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COPVRIGHT DEPOSIT 



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WOMEN'S EDUCATIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL UNION 
DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH 



VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



VOCATIONS 



TRAINED WOMAN 



OPPORTUNITIES OTHER THAN TEACHING 



INTRODUCTORY PAPERS 



EDITED BY 



AGNES F. PERKINS, A.M. 

WELLESLEY COLLEGE 



PUBLISHED BY 

WOMEN'S EDUCATIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL UNION 
BOSTON 



/ 

** 



Copyright, 1910, by 

WOMEN'S EDUCATIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL UNION 

BOSTON, MASS. 



GEO. H. EIX£S CO., PRINTERS, BOSTON, MASS. 



©CI.A265741 



PREFACE 



This book is the outgrowth of a conviction that many women 
who are unfitted for teaching drift into it because it is the voca- 
tion with which they are most familiar; that the teaching which 
results is injurious to both teacher and pupil; that many who 
make poor teachers might become able workers if wisely guided 
into other fields. To suggest to such women, and to others about 
to choose an occupation, some lines of work now open to them 
and the equipment which they should have to justify a hope of 
success in any given line, is the purpose of the following papers. 

The work was begun by Miss Mabel Parton, Director of the 
Research Department of the Women's Educational and In- 
dustrial Union, 1906 to 1909, with the co-operation of Miss 
Annie Marion MacLean, Professor of Sociology, Adelphi Col- 
lege, Brooklyn, representing The Inter-Municipal Research Com- 
mittee. Two research fellows were to gather facts from rep- 
resentative men and women engaged in various occupations in 
Boston and New York, and their reports were to furnish ma- 
terial for the book. The articles by Miss Gertrude Marvin in 
the present volume represent the beginning of the investigation 
in Boston, which was made possible by the generous contribution 
of the late Mr. Henry S. Grew and of Mrs. Henry Pickering. 
As it soon became evident, however, that thorough studies must 
involve longer time and more labor than was then available, the 
plan was modified. An English publication, "The Finger Post, a 
Guide to the Professions and Occupations of Educated Women/' 
suggested a series of articles by specialists, and this idea was at once 
followed up by Miss Parton in Boston and Miss MacLean in New 
York. When, later, serious illness obliged Miss Parton to with- 
draw wholly from the work, a general editor became a necessity; 
and with the continued interest and aid of Miss MacLean, the 
added help of Miss Marion Parris, Associate in Economics at 
Bryn Mawr College, and the assistance of the many who have 



vi PREFACE 

generously contributed papers, the following articles have been 
brought together under the title "Introductory Papers." It is 
the further intention of the Women's Educational and Industrial 
Union to publish, under the direction of the Research Department, 
a series of studies in fields of work here outlined. 

The articles in this book, written largely by men and women at 
work in Boston and New York, or the two States, Massachusetts 
and New York, represent the situation in these two sections. It 
is obvious, then, that local conditions must be taken into account 
in reading them. The personal point of view must also be reck- 
oned with. Articles giving individual views of given fields for 
which statistics cannot be got without elaborate investigation are, 
in their very nature, personal and in danger of being prejudiced. 
The different sections cannot, then, definitely figure the facts. 
They do, however, suggest clearly enough the present possibilities 
for women in various occupations. 

Each contributor has been asked to cover the following topics : 
the nature of the work, the training necessary or desirable, the 
opportunities and compensation, — maximum, minimum, and aver- 
age. The sections have been arranged according to the kind of 
training that leads to the different occupations or to the nature 
of the work itself. The better known professions — law, medi- 
cine, architecture— have of necessity been omitted, to make room 
for vocations less known and less easily inquired into. The 
field of arts and crafts has also been left undeveloped, be- 
cause every inquiry has brought the warning that "it is only the 
exceptional genius or the craftsman with exceptional training 
who can, at the present time, earn a living wage by the artistic 
crafts, without giving time and vitality to teaching the craft." 
It has seemed wise, however, to include a few special forms of 
teaching for which the demand is great and the supply inadequate. 

In some articles mention is made of sources from which further 
information may be obtained. Questions bearing upon the pos- 
sibilities of work in any given occupation may be sent to the 
Appointment Bureau of the Women's Educational and Indus- 
trial Union, 264 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts, which 
has been established for the purpose of directing trained women 
into vocations other than teaching. 



CONTENTS 



I. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE. 

Opportunities for Women Trained in Research. 

Susan M. Kingsbury 1 
Civic Service. 

Civil Service Marion Parris 4 

Police Matron Service . . . Alice L. Woodbridge 8 

Probation Work Maude E. Miner 9 

Probation Work in the Juvenile Court. 

Irene Cowan Marshall 13 

State Child Saving Mary W. Dewson 14 

State Reformatory Work for Girls and Women. 

Katharine Bement Davis 16 

State Charities Aid Work .... Mary Vida Clark 18 

Playground Work Joseph Lee 20 

Social Centre Work Edward J. Ward 25 

Economic Research Susan M. Kingsbury 28 

Municipal Research William H. Allen 30 

Social Service. 
Work in the Association for Improving the Condition 

of the Poor Halle D. Woods 33 

Work in the Organized Charities. 

Mary Grace Worthington 36 

Child Saving C. C. Carstens, Ph.D. 40 

Medical Social Service . . Richard C. Cabot, M.D. 42 

Garnet Isabel Pelton 45 

Rent Collecting .... Lilian Marchant Skinner 49 

Blanche Geary 55 

Settlement Work Robert A. Woods 56 

Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch 58 
Welfare Work. 

From the Point of View of the Business House ... 63 
Young Women's Christian Association Work. 

Elizabeth Wilson 68 

Nursing Lillian D. Wald 71 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



II. SCIENTIFIC WORK. 



Work for Women Trained in Chemistry. 

James F. Norms 74 

Work for Women Trained in Biology. Percy G. Stiles 76 

Museum Work 79 

m. DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS. 

Domestic Science. 

The Field of Domestic Science .... Helen Kinne 81 

The Institutional Dietitian . Florence R. Corbett 85 

The Visiting Dietitian . . Winifred Stuart Gibbs 87 

Institutional Management . . . Juliet C. Patterson 89 
Hotels, Restaurants, Catering Establishments. 

Gertrude L. Marvin 92 

Lunch-room Management . . . Bertha Stevenson 96 

Laundry Work Grace G. White 97 

Domestic Arts. 

The Field of Domestic Arts. Compiled from Notes by 

Mrs. Nelly Hattersley 100 

Dressmaking Agnes Hinds 107 

Jane Fales 111 

Millinery C. Lothrop Higgins 113 

Evelyn Smith Tobey 116 

Interior Decoration . . . Celeste Weed Allbright 119 

IV. AGRICULTURE. 

Agricultural Occupations A. R. Mann 122 

Kenyon L. Butterfield 131 

General Farming K. C. Livermore 133 

Jean Kane Foulke 143 

Dairy Farming Charlotte Barrell Ware 146 

Poultry Farming William P. Brooks 151 

Bee-keeping James B. Paige 152 

Market-gardening H. F. Tompson 154 

Persis Bartholomew 157 

Floriculture E. A. White 158 

Small Fruit-growing F. C. Sears 160 

Landscape Gardening Beatrix Jones 161 

Forestry Mira L. Dock 163 



CONTENTS ix 

PAGE 

V. BUSINESS. 

Advertising .... 168 

Work in Department Stores . Gertrude L. Marvin 173 

Buying in Department Stores . . Ralph Albertson 186 

Banking Eleanor B. Richardson 188 

Gertrude Underhill 191 

M. Louise Erwin 194 

Real Estate Mrs. M. E. Alexander 195 

Insurance Edna B. Lewis 198 

VI. CLERICAL AND SECRETARIAL WORK. 

Clerical and Secretarial Work, Sarah Louise Arnold 201 

Helen M. Kelsey 206 

Private Secretary Work . Anne Pillsbury Anderson 209 
Secretary Work in the Business Office. 

Alice Harriet Grady 210 
VH. LITERARY WORK. 

Library Work .... Josephine Adams Rathbone 215 

Library Training Mary Esther Robbins 221 

Newspaper Work Gertrude L. Marvin 227 

Agnes E. Ryan 236 

Free Lancing Minnie J. Reynolds 241 

Work in a Publishing House . . . Edith A. Winship 244 

Jessie Reid 248 

Magazine Work James E. Tower 250 

Indexing Julia E. Elliott 258 

Translating Heloise Brainerd 261 

VIII. ART. 

Illustrating and Fashion Drawing 264 

Commercial Designing 268 

Museum Work Elizabeth M. Gardiner 270 

IX. SPECIAL FORMS OF TEACHING. 

Vocational Teaching . . Florence M. Marshall 273 

Training in Salesmanship . . Lucinda W. Prince 277 

Teaching Mental Defectives. Cora Elizabeth Wood 281 

Walter E. Fernald, M.D. 283 

Physical Education Amy M. Homans 285 

Corrective Work in Physical Education. 

Robert W. Lovett, M.D. 288 

INDEX 293 



I 

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 



WOMEN TRAINED IN RESEARCH 

SUSAN M. KINGSBURY 

Director of the Research Department, Women's Educational and Industrial 

Union, Boston 

Professor John R. Commons has well stated the function of 
research: "The motto of academic research is * truth for its own 
sake,' regardless of the practical uses to which it can be put. . . . 
In the infancy of a science, when its practical applications are 
unsuspected, or on the fringes of a science where the applications 
are in doubt, investigations can have no other aim than the dis- 
covery of truth for its own sake. . . . But when a science has 
been developed, when its applications are being made, when the 
world is eager for its utility, when hundreds of investigators have 
fallen in line, research must set up a new aim, truth for the sake 
of practice. . . . The science of political economy and sociology 
is now being called upon for something practical. Legislation 
has been left to the lawyers and the politicians. . . . Take the 
great questions of the day that are pressing for solution : the regu- 
lation of public utilities, the revision of the currency, the revision 
of the tariff, and many others. They are economic and not 
merely legal questions. But when the committee of the Wis- 
consin Legislature settled down to work out a bill for the regula- 
tion of public utility on an economic basis they could find but 
little in the writings of the economists that indicated to them what 
they should do. On that and other subjects the science remains 
in its academic stage, long after it has been called upon for con- 
structive work." {Charities and the Commons, October, 1908.) 
The result has been a demand upon economists and sociologists 
for students equipped to secure, to assemble, to classify, and 



2 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

especially to interpret facts in their relation one to the other 
and in their wider application. Opportunities in this field may 
be classified as positions in scientific research, social research, 
political and municipal research, and economic research. 

Her taste for a field of activity should be the first subject for 
consideration by a student who is about to choose a career; and, 
if she is then inclined to direct her efforts within that field to re- 
search, her natural ability for such work should control her de- 
cision. An intense desire to seek the truth, and the power to 
cleave to the truth, unwillingness to accept a verdict unless 
clearly proved, and to insist upon cumulative testimony before 
accepting the evidence as conclusive; powers of concentration 
and "of infinite pains"; ability to understand a situation from 
the point of view of another rather than from one's own experi- 
ence, — a certain type of imagination, — and to conceive of every 
kind of procedure to secure information, — another type of imagi- 
nation, — these are the essential qualifications for success in re- 
search, whatever the field of activity. 

While the opportunities for research in any one subject are not 
wide, the character of the work and the ability demanded for its 
accomplishment are similar in all. It is, therefore, the function 
of this introductory note to suggest that training may be such 
as to enable the young woman qualified for research to enter 
one of two fields in which openings may occur. For example, 
a woman particularly interested in biology, who is unable to 
complete a thorough graduate course, or who enjoys greater activ- 
ity than that afforded by laboratory work, may well secure a 
background in economic subjects and in government, and take 
up such an occupation as that of sanitary inspector under a board 
of health. Indeed, it may be questioned whether a system of 
majors and minors is not essential for the highest specialization, 
affording powers for more intensive work, and at the same time 
being opportune in case of a limitation in number of more scien- 
tific positions available. 

A classification of the subjects in which occupations for re- 
search may occur may be helpful, a discussion of each subject 
being presented in connection with the papers in this section and 
in the following section on science : — 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 3 

I. Scientific Research may be subdivided into: — 

1. Chemical research, training for which would lead to 

positions in chemical laboratories or assistantships 
to chemists, positions in manufactories where a 
knowledge of investigation is important, or posi- 
tions of investigators in pure-food laboratories. 

2. Pathological research, training for which would pre- 

pare for positions in hospitals and physicians' 
offices. 

3. Hygienic research, or Sanitary research, training for 

which would prepare women for positions in lab- 
oratories of investigation in connection with medi- 
cine, feeding of children, physical training, die- 
tetics, sanitation, pure-food inspection. 
II. Social Research seems to be concerned with the daily 
life of the people, their pleasures, their social rela- 
tions, their education, their home-making capacity. 
Investigations in this field, therefore, would deal 
more largely with educational, ethical, psychological, 
and social principles than with economic principles. 

Training, especially where combined with prepa- 
ration in educational or industrial processes or eco- 
nomics, may therefore lead to positions in: — 

1. Charity organizations. 

2. Educational work, such as teaching of industrial and 

trade subjects in settlements. 

3. Pure social work, such as social secretaries, welfare 

managers in factories or stores, club leaders, set- 
tlement workers, agents in juvenile courts, chil- 
dren's aid societies, and other institutions for cor- 
rection of social conditions. 
III. Municipal and Political Research has as its function 
investigation of the administration of public funds 
and public affairs. It has, therefore, legal and judi- 
cial character, and concerns itself with economy in 
public affairs and with public education. Training 
for such research would probably not open up ad- 
ministrative and executive positions which are apt 



[ VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

to be those at the disposal of the public, but would 
prepare for research in the restrictive institutions of 
the law and the public corrective institutions, al- 
though such training might well fit a woman who had 
had a secretarial or commercial education for assist- 
ants' positions in the public offices or for civic posi- 
tions. 
IV. Economic Research is concerned with one of three or 
perhaps more phases of the protection and promo- 
tion of the people in their money-getting and money- 
spending capacity. Training in economic research 
may lead toward pure research work, or toward ad- 
ministrative positions requiring ability to pursue or 
direct lines of research in connection with the duties 
of the position, or toward positions of leadership or 
of correction requiring knowledge of economic condi- 
tions. 



CIVIC SERVICE 



WOMEN IN THE CIVIL SERVICE 

MARION PARRIS 

Associate in Economics, Bryn Mawb College 

A promising area of activity is opening for women in the 
Federal, State, and Municipal Civil Service. Since the passage 
of the Civil Service Law in 1883, women have taken ad- 
vantage of this opening in ever-increasing numbers. In 1880 
but 3.1 per cent, of all federal officials were women; in 1890 the 
proportion had risen to 5.9 per cent.; in 1900, to 9.4 per cent., 
or 8,119 women office-holders as compared with 78,488 men. 
The Census of 1910 will probably show the proportion of women 
to be 15 per cent, or over. The Civil Service Commissioner 
reports that "the percentage of women is highest in the Depart- 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 5 

ment of the Interior, being 31; in the Government Printing 
Office it is 29, in the Department of Agriculture it is 19, ^and 
in the Treasury Department 15. In other departments and 
independent offices the percentage and the absolute number of 
women is so small as to be of little interest/ ' The Bureau of 
Labor and the Immigration Bureau offer positions of unusual 
interest to women interested in economic and sociological prob- 
lems, and opportunities for doing special research work along 
many lines. This is also true of the Bureau of Corporations, 
which up to the present time, however, has been closed to women. 

According to occupation, the majority of women office-holders 
have held clerical positions: 7,346, or 7.2 per cent., of the Gov- 
ernment clerks are women; 159, or 2.4 per cent., of the profes- 
sional, technical, and scientific experts are women; 24, or 1.4 
per cent., of the Government executive positions are held by 
women; 90, or 1.3 per cent., of the employees engaged in mechani- 
cal occupations are women; while women holding sub-clerical 
or laboring positions number 5,461, or 20.3 per cent, of all per- 
sons so employed. 

More than half of the women federal officials, or 51.7 per cent., 
are located in the District of Columbia, while only 13.7 per cent, 
of the men officials have their headquarters at the Capitol. So 
as far as women are concerned, the federal posts away from 
Washington have been relatively unimportant. 

As to salaries, Mr. Folz in "The Federal Civil Service as a 
Career" states that "the pay of a woman office-holder is con- 
siderably more than that received for parallel services elsewhere. 
. . . The highest pay of women office-holders runs from $1600 to 
$2000 a year. The positions paying such salaries entail con- 
siderable ability, either educational or executive; they include 
such posts as those of translator, law clerk, librarian, fore- 
woman, superintendent, expert statistician, stenographer, in- 
spector, director, mathematician, and similar places, which in 
business life pay from $1200-$1500 a year. ... In matters of 
promotion, women's chances are also quite equal to men's up to 
$1800, beyond which sum women seldom rise. . . . The limit of 
promotion appears to end abruptly and unequivocally at $2000, 
which figure few attain." 



6 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

In the report of the Civil Service Commissioner for 1903-04 
the following salaries are quoted: — 

Of the 13,322 women holding federal positions, 

6,333 received less than $720 per annum. 

941 " between $720- 840 " 

172 " " 840- 900 " 

1,066 " " 900-1,000 " 

1,094 " " 1,000-1,200 " 

1,114 " " 1,200-1,400 " 

400 " " 1,400-1,600 " 

110 " " 1,600-1,800 " 

17 " $1,800 and over. 

The opportunities for advancement according to Mr. Folz seem 
best in the following positions: — 

1. Government Engineers in the Coast Survey, Geodetic Survey, 
Geological Survey, and the Land Office. For these positions 
college and professional training is necessary, and the chances 
for promotion are good. 

2. Technical Clerks specializing in botany, geology, geodesy, 
meteorology, statistics, zoology, entomology, medicine, archi- 
tecture, etc. For these positions a college education is a great ad- 
vantage, if not an absolute necessity. An ability to read French, 
German, Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese, is an asset, as well as the 
almost indispensable knowledge of stenography and typewriting. 

3. Government Stenographer, leading to such positions as chief 
clerk, executive secretary, and assistant secretary. 

4. Government Editor and Censor of Correspondence in Govern- 
ment bureaus. This position requires special training in English 
composition, proof-reading, etc. 

5. Government Translator. Just at present there is a special 
demand for students who can read the Oriental languages, espe- 
cially Chinese and Japanese. 

6. Government Librarian, with some special training in cata- 
loguing, filing, and library methods. The salaries for these posi- 
tions range from $1,200 to $1,800. 

7. Government Statistician, with special training in the gather- 
ing, tabulating, and analyzing of statistics. The salaries range 
from $1,200 to $3,000. 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 7 

8. Patent Investigator, for which a college education is absolutely 
necessary, and some special professional training highly desirable. 
The salaries for these positions range from $1,500 to $2,700. 

9. Agricultural Expert, with some special knowledge of the 
chemistry of soils, horticulture, plant diseases, intensive farming 
methods, or forestry. These positions are continually growing 
in importance with the extension of the State Bureaus of Agri- 
culture and the instalment of research and experiment stations. 
Male agricultural experts receive $3,000 to $4,000 a year, and 
are in direct line for commanding more lucrative positions in pri- 
vate enterprises. The reviving interest in agriculture, especially 
on the part of women, seems likely in the immediate future to 
lead them to consider the federal offices, and to apply for them 
in greater numbers than in the past. 

The Federal Service, therefore, offers to women certain oppor- 
tunities for congenial work which should not be overlooked by 
the college graduate whose vocation is not teaching. The testi- 
mony of the women who are working in the government service 
seems to be that all bureaus and departments tend to advance 
their own people. Once the examinations are passed and the 
appointment received, advancement is certain, if not rapid. A 
college woman who is doing advanced research work in the Bureau 
of Labor writes: "Women stand a particularly good chance in 
Government work, because the salaries are not sufficiently large 
to induce the best men to enter the service, but are better than the 
salaries received by women in other non-federal callings. You 
have, therefore, capable women and less capable men in many 
Government positions." 

Candidates for Federal positions should write directly to the 
Civil Service Commission in Washington for a manual of ex- 
aminations, application blanks, and a schedule of dates and 
places where the examinations are held. Candidates should 
also plan to take the examinations at least a year and a half 
before they hope for an appointment, and, when it seems ad- 
visable, to present themselves for examination in the require- 
ments for more than one position. 

Opportunities for women in the State and Municipal Civil 
Service vary considerably according to State and city. Many 



8 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

positions — clerical, educational, literary, technical, administrative, 
and executive — are open to women who pass competitive exami- 
nations. For definite information regarding the positions avail- 
able in any given State or city, it will be necessary to refer to the 
Civil Service Commission of that State or city or to the proper 
authorities in the department about which information is desired. 



THE SERVICE OF POLICE MATRONS 

ALICE L. WOODBRIDGE 

Agent for the Women's Prison Association, New York 

The duties of police matrons are: to keep the prison in order 
after it has been thoroughly cleansed once a day by a cleaner; 
to search all women prisoners, conduct them to their cells, and 
guard them during their detention in the station house; to care 
for all sick and injured women pending the arrival of an ambu- 
lance; to search for identification the bodies of unknown dead; 
and to care for all lost women and children brought to the 
station. In the city of Greater New York police matrons are 
members of the uniformed force. They wear a uniform and 
shield, and are frequently called upon to do detective duty. 

There are 70 police matrons in the city of Greater New York. 
No openings occur except on the death, resignation, or dismissal 
of a matron, or upon the designation of an additional station 
house for the reception of women prisoners. Such openings are 
filled from an eligible list filed by the Civil Service Examiners 
once in four years. All persons included in this list must be at 
least thirty and not over forty-five years old. They must have 
passed a severe physical examination, and a mental test adapted 
to the ordinary standards of intelligence. No qualifications 
other than perfect physical condition, good moral character, and 
ordinary intelligence, are required, although a knowledge of 
languages counts in examination. As a new Civil Service list 
has recently been published, there will be no opportunity for 
examination for almost three years. 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 9 

Two matrons are assigned to each station house. These ma- 
trons alternate weekly between ten hours of day duty" and 
fourteen hours night duty, but remain on duty twenty-four hours 
every other Sunday, in order to obtain two full Sundays off in 
the month. They are allowed one day of each month for rest. 
Newly appointed matrons serve three months' probation and are 
then duly appointed. The salary is $1,000 per year for all, re- 
gardless of time of appointment, with retirement on half-pay after 
twenty years of service. Police matrons who so desire may, 
however, continue in service for twenty -five years if found physi- 
cally and mentally able to perform their duties. 

The class and condition of the women prisoners brought to our 
station houses are such that any reformatory work among them 
is nearly or quite impossible, but women of high intelligence 
might be of invaluable assistance in looking after their physical 
needs. The position is unsuitable for a young woman because of 
the language and condition of the prisoners and the surroundings 
in the station; but the people of New York would be glad to see 
women in middle life, of high character and intelligence, above 
temptation, and imbued with a practical missionary spirit, seek 
these positions. 



WOMEN IN PROBATION WORK 

MAUDE E. MINER 

Secretary of the New York Probation Association 

Probation gives the convicted boy or girl, man or woman, a 
chance outside of an institution. It is a process of character- 
building under the guidance of a probation officer who is a coun- 
sellor and friend. 

Character and Scope of the Work. 

The probation officer is busy during the hours of the court 
session listening to the stories of defendants as they explain the 
circumstances which brought them into conflict with the law. 



10 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

Before deciding what is the best thing to do for the prisoner, it is 
necessary to know the whole story, and in investigating, the 
probation officer finds her way up the tenement stairs into hun- 
dreds of homes all over the city. If the conditions are favorable 
for helping the girl or woman without commitment to a reforma- 
tory, the probation officer recommends that leniency be shown. 
Sentence, or the execution of the sentence, is suspended, and the 
defendant may then be released under the care of the probation 
officer on condition that the probationer reports as directed by 
the magistrate and is of good behavior. During the probation 
period of three or six months the probation officer supervises her 
conduct, visits her at her home, and helps her in every way she 
can. 

In a single night from 50 to 150 girls and women may be seen 
passing before the bar of justice at the Night Court in New York 
City. Girls sixteen years of age and over arrested for intoxica- 
tion, larceny, fighting, associating with dissolute and vicious per- 
sons, and soliciting on the streets for purposes of prostitution, 
are brought to this court from all parts of Manhattan and the 
Bronx. To provide a temporary home for the many girls and 
women released on probation, who had no home or who were 
anxious to leave their wretched environment, Waverley House 
was opened, February 1, 1908, at 165 West 10th Street. Here 
the girls may stay for a few days, while the probation officer 
learns if their stories are true, arranges to send them to the hos- 
pital or to their homes in other cities, or finds suitable work 
for them. It gives an opportunity to win the girl's confidence, 
and at times to help in the prosecution of the one responsible 
for her downfall. The New York Probation Association, organ- 
ized in May, 1908, assumed the maintenance of Waverley 
House and arranged for a broader program of work. It now has 
an Employment Bureau for probationers, and July 1, 1909, 
opened a Summer Home to supplement the work at Waverley 
House. 

Training for the Work. 

To enter as a paid probation officer in any city, it is essen- 
tial to have had experience or training in probation or a kindred 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 11 

line of work. One needs to test her own ability, to know 
whether or not she is skilful in dealing with defective character 
and whether she is sufficiently interested in the work to devote 
herself to it. It is also necessary to know the charitable and 
institutional resources of the city in which one is to work. A 
course at the New York School of Philanthropy affords an ex- 
cellent opportunity for visiting different institutions and for get- 
ting an outlook over different kinds of social work and experience 
in the practical office details. Some students during their Senior 
year at college or during the summer months gain practical ex- 
perience in juvenile probation work by volunteering their services 
to the paid officials. Others, while studying at the School of 
Philanthropy or doing graduate work at the university or while 
engaged in settlement work, devote some time to volunteer pro- 
bation or parole work. There are reformatory institutions which 
welcome students just graduated from college as workers, and 
institutional experience of that kind is valuable as training for 
the position of probation officer. Experience for at least one 
year as a paid or volunteer worker in a society or institution 
dealing with delinquents, where there is opportunity for investi- 
gation and for personal work, is necessary for one who wishes to 
become a probation officer. 

Probation Opportunities in New York. 

In Greater New York there are 27 paid women probation officers, 
24 of whom receive compensation from public funds. There are 
few openings for workers with juveniles in New York City, as 
there are no official probation officers in the Children's Court of 
the Borough of Manhattan. Two representatives of different 
societies, one a volunteer and the other a paid worker, are 
appointed to do probation work in the Children's Court of 
Brooklyn. There are 23 women probation officers for adults in 
the Magistrates' Courts, 8 in the Boroughs of Manhattan and 
Bronx, and 15 in the Boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and Rich- 
mond. Appointments to the positions in the Magistrates' Courts 
are made from a civil service list resulting from a competitive 
examination held in February, 1906. According to civil ser- 
vice rules, appointments can be made from one list only 



12 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

during a period of four years, so that another examination 
is due. 

There are 3 paid women probation officers in the trial courts 
of Special and General Sessions, one each in Special Sessions, 
Boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, and one in the Court of 
General Sessions, Manhattan. Some of the organizations which 
aid in probation work employ women workers, — the Brooklyn 
Juvenile Probation Association, the Catholic Probation League, 
and the New York Probation Association. 

New openings for probation officers occur constantly in other 
cities and counties of New York State, and examinations are 
held from time to time as provision for salaries is made. Buf- 
falo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Yonkers, and several other 
cities have paid probation officers. Altogether there are in New 
York State 305 men and women probation officers, including 
both salaried and volunteer workers, over 100 of whom are either 
publicly or privately salaried. 

Salaries. 

The salaries paid to probation officers in the Magistrates' 
Courts of New York City are not commensurate with the char- 
acter of work that should be required. Eighteen women receive 
$900 per year, and five $600 per year. The salary of the two 
women probation officers in the Courts of Special Sessions, 
Boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, is $1,200. In other cities 
in the State the salaries range from $600 to $1,200 per year. 
The highest salary paid to a woman probation officer in New 
York State is $1,200. 

The real value of probation work has not yet been fully rec- 
ognized, and where there is one opening in the field to-day, within 
five years there will be twenty or more. It remains for those who 
are doing the work to do it so efficiently that cities will amply 
provide for it in their budgets of expense and that every State 
will have on its statute books probation laws for juveniles and 
adults. 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 13 



PROBATION WORK IN THE JUVENILE COURT 

IRENE COWAN MARSHALL 

Formerly Probation Officer, Pittsburg 

Pennsylvania law provides for probation for adults tried in 
Criminal Court and for children under sixteen tried in Juvenile 
Court. In Allegheny County, probation work is done only in 
Juvenile Court. 

It is the duty of the probation officer to investigate all cases 
before the hearing in court. In a given case the officer must 
learn the home conditions of the child, the character of his parents, 
neighborhood conditions, his school or work record, and, in fact, 
anything and everything that will enable her to understand what 
has made the child what he is. The probation officer must inves- 
tigate the prosecutor's side of the story, and be able to give the 
court an accurate, impartial statement of the case. When, as 
is generally done with a "first offender" if the home conditions 
are at all possible, the child is returned to his home on probation, 
the officer must look after him, become a friend of the family, 
and in every way possible help and encourage the child to do what 
is right. She must report to the court the progress of the child. 

Work of this kind requires unlimited patience, an equal amount 
of good judgment, and very great tact, with no small amount of 
courage. It is work that becomes so interesting as to make the 
hard places seem easy, but a strong constitution, equal to the 
strain of great responsibility, is necessary. 

No previous training for the work has been required on the part 
of a new probation officer. She works a month on trial for $40, 
then, if suited to the work, is appointed probation officer by the 
court at a salary of $700 per year. The second year she receives 
$780, the third year $840, and the fourth year $900, when all 
advance ceases. Previous training in almost any line of social 
work, especially work dealing with children, would be helpful. 



14 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



STATE CHILD SAVING 

MARY W. DEWSON 

Superintendent of the Probation Department op the State Industrial School, 

Massachusetts 

Institutional training is necessary for delinquent girls whom 
neither court probation officers nor child-placing societies can 
keep safely in their own homes or in the homes of other people. 
In the institution the girls are trained through their hands by 
housework, laundry work, cooking, sewing, gardening, and sloyd, 
sports, gymnastics, and further school work. The aim of the 
officer must be to send out her girls not only capable of making 
themselves useful, but possessing something of the good every- 
day virtues, and filled with the standards and ideals of living and 
of conduct belonging to plain, hard-working, self-respecting people. 

When the girls are put on parole, they become the responsi- 
bility of a visitor under the Probation Department, who finds 
homes for them in good families, where they hold much the posi- 
tion of old-fashioned "help." Some of the girls, after a while, 
become dressmakers, attendants, and so on. Later they may 
go back to their own homes. For these girls between the years 
of fifteen and twenty-one the problems of life are especially com- 
plicated by their intense interest in young men. They are, more- 
over, handicapped by great temperamental difficulties, by un- 
formed characters, by the lack of much native ability, and by 
poor habits only temporarily arrested by the training at the 
school. The visitor must arrange and rearrange conditions so 
that the fight shall always be possible and hopeful. She must 
keep up the courage and the interest of the fighter and of her 
employers, who will often lose heart. She must be capable, too, 
of enlisting the interest of other people in her charges, as well as 
of gaining the co-operation of the relatives, never forgetting that 
her difficulties are bound up with the big social problem with 
which she should be familiar. 

A natural aptitude for visiting these difficult girls is essential. 
Aside from that, any training that has developed the visitor on 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 15 

the points just mentioned would be an advantage. It would be 
a detriment if the work that she has done has tended to make 
her set and dry, a routine worker who mistakes conformity for 
growth. An inspiring teacher has had a good preparation for 
visiting. Special training is given the visitor through consul- 
tation over the daily perplexities as they arise. Owing to the 
out-of-door life, the occupation is healthful; it requires a well- 
balanced rather than a robust person. Some women are not too 
young to begin when they are twenty -four years old nor some too 
old to start at forty. 

The State Board of Charity, Department of Minor Wards, and 
the City of Boston, Children's Department, have visitors for 
children and babies as well as for girls, and what has been said 
of the parole work applies equally to their departments, except 
that their proportion of very difficult girls is much smaller, and 
the work with the younger children is more simple. A woman 
who is inadequate for older girls might be a success with children. 
For a visitor of little children a nurse's training is excellent. For 
the babies under three the State Board employs two physicians 
as visitors, and the city a trained nurse. 

The superintendent of the State Industrial School appoints her 
officers without restriction. The visitors for the State Board, 
the City, and the Probation Department are under the civil 
service. Information as to when the next examination will be 
held may be had from the Civil Service Commission, State House, 
Boston. The common sense, insight, and imagination of the ap- 
plicant are tested by such questions as: — 

"Margaret has been wayward and in a reformatory institution. She 
is now sixteen, and has been placed by the department in a good home, 
where she can earn her living by housework. You find, as you become 
acquainted, that she dislikes the work bitterly, and does it in a lazy, 
half-hearted way, although she seems a girl of force and power. What 
are the things you would do? And why?"* 

Visitors for the City of Boston must have lived in Boston for 
at least one year previous to the examination. The State visitors 
are not restricted by residence. 

* Civil service examination held September, 1907. 



16 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

The salaries at the State Industrial School range from 
to $1,800 with board and lodging. Visitors receive from 
to $1,750 without maintenance. 

The State Board of Charity employs 26 women in the care of 
its minor wards; the Probation Department, 9; the State Indus- 
trial School, 45; and the City of Boston, Children's Depart- 
ment, 5. 

There is a particular zest in public service. The State does the 
biggest block of child-saving work, and to do it as effectively as the 
private societies is a challenge. 



REFORMATORY WORK FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN 
KATHARINE BEMENT DAVIS 

Superintendent, State Reformatory for Women, Bedford, New York 

The State of New York takes precedence over every other State 
in the Union in the provision made for reformatory treatment of 
women and girls. It now supports three such institutions, — the 
State Training School for Girls at Hudson, the Western House of 
Refuge for W T omen at Albion, and the State Reformatory for 
Women at Bedford. Hudson cares for something over 300 girls 
between the ages of twelve and sixteen. Bedford and Albion take 
charge of nearly 600 women between the ages of fifteen and 
thirty, committed for all offences except murder in the first and 
second degree, for an indefinite term not to exceed three years. 
Each of these three institutions is officered by women. 

With the exception of the position of superintendent at the 
State Training School for Girls at Hudson, all positions for women 
in each of these institutions are under civil service rules. The 
examinations are not difficult, and should not bar any woman of 
fair education and training from entering the service. 

The salaries range from $1,800 a year for the superintendents 
to $30 a month for officers in charge of the laundry and sewing- 
rooms. Maintenance is in addition to this, and means room, 
board, and laundry. Each of these institutions has a resident 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 17 

physician at a salary of $1,200, and a woman steward at a salary 
of $1,000, one or two parole officers at $720 each, and a marshal 
at $720, a head-teacher at $600, and so on. Matrons of cottages 
receive $40 a month, and assistant matrons $35 a month. It will 
be seen that the salaries paid in the upper ranks are equal to or 
above the average paid to school-teachers. Comparatively few 
college women have entered the State service in these institutions, 
although there is a growing number who are filling positions in 
other branches of the State service. Two out of the three super- 
intendents, two of the physicians, and several teachers are college 
women. 

The drawback to the positions is, for most women, the remote- 
ness of the institutions from large cities. The officers are thrown, 
more or less, upon themselves for companionship, and must de- 
pend upon their own resources for amusement. On the other 
hand there is a growing demand for trained workers in these 
lines in other States, and women of more than average ability 
are pretty sure, sooner or later, to receive promotion, if not in 
this State, then by offer of better work in another. 

In the educational departments there is a great opportunity 
for original work, as there are no cut-and-dried educational 
methods employed, and the individual teacher must adapt her 
methods to meet the needs of her individual pupils. I know of 
no other openings along educational lines where at the present 
time there is such a virgin field for constructive work. For stu- 
dents interested in problems of abnormalities — psychological and 
physiological — there is also an abundant opportunity for research 
work as well as for work along various social lines, although it is 
to be said that in regular positions the duties are so exacting as 
to leave little time for study. 

An increasing number of young women graduates from our 
colleges are fitting themselves for social work. It would seem 
that there should be a certain percentage of women whose talents 
fit them for this kind of work who would be drawn to it in much 
the same spirit with which workers enter the social settlements 
or even the foreign mission fields. 



18 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



THE STATE CHARITIES AID ASSOCIATION OF 
THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

MARY VIDA CLARK 

Assistant Secretary 

General Work. 

The executive staff consists of a secretary, three assistant sec- 
retaries, and the employees of the different departments men- 
tioned below. One of the assistant secretaries at the present time 
is a woman and a college graduate. 

Children's Department. 

An agency for placing out children in family homes is main- 
tained at the central office, and employs a superintendent and four 
assistant agents, all women. The work of the agents is to travel 
about the State, investigating the character and circumstances 
of families who have applied for children, taking children to 
families whose applications have been approved, and visiting 
children in their foster homes after they have been placed out. 
An agent is also employed whose special work it is to investigate 
the circumstances of children in institutions in different parts 
of the State, in order to ascertain whether they can be placed out 
in free family homes. 

The association has nine county or city agents for dependent 
children, at the present time, in different parts of the State, and 
is gradually increasing the number by starting the work in other 
cities and counties. Such an agent does practically all the work 
necessary in connection with children who are or who are likely 
to become public dependants. She investigates the circumstances 
of the children who are maintained in institutions at public ex- 
pense, and returns to relatives those whose relatives are found to 
be morally fit and financially able to care for them; places out in 
free family homes, in co-operation with the agency at the central 
office, such children as are suitable for such disposition; investi- 
gates applications for the commitment of children to institutions 
as public charges, and advises the public officials as to whether 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE Id 

or not they should be accepted.* In many localities these agents 
are intrusted by public Poor Law officers with a large part of their 
work in connection with the relief of the poor in their homes. 
In many counties these agents act also as county probation offi- 
cers on appointment by the county judge. 

At the central office there is also an Agency for Assisting and 
Providing Situations for Mothers with Babies, which employs an 
agent and an assistant agent. The work of this agency is to enable 
homeless women to keep their children with them by placing 
them as servants in carefully selected homes. 

All the employees of the Children's Department are women, 
and about half of those employed at the present time are college 
graduates. The salaries range from $600 to $1,200 a year. 

Tuberculosis Department. 

The Tuberculosis Department is carrying on a campaign for the 
prevention of tuberculosis throughout the State of New York out- 
side of New York City. Of the six non-clerical employees only two 
at the present time are women, but it is possible that more women 
may be employed in future. The work of this department is to 
conduct campaigns and organize committees in different parts of 
the State, to address meetings, to write articles for the press, and to 
correspond with people all over the State with regard to the work. 

* Similar work is carried on by the City of New York and the State under 
civil service regulations. 

The superintendent reports that there are 11 women employed by the 
Children's Bureau of the Department of Public Charities of the City of New 
York as Examiners of Charitable Institutions. "The duties of the position are to 
investigate the applications for the commitment and discharge of children. In ad- 
dition to this routine or current work of the Bureau, these Examiners also reinvesti- 
gate the circumstances of the families of children in institutions in compliance with 
the rules of the State Board of Charities governing the retention of children in 
institutions. The salary of an Examiner of Charitable Institutions is $1,200 per 
annum, and appointment of the same is subject to Civil Service examination." 

The Twenty-sixth Report of the New York State Civil Service Commission 
names 4 women inspectors under the State Board of Charities, 2 with a salary of 
$1,200, 4 with a salary of $900. A letter from the secretary of the board gives their 
duties as follows: "The homes in which dependent children are placed out by 
poor-law officers are visited and inspected regularly by women inspectors of this 
board, and in addition our women inspectors visit almshouses, hospitals, asylums 
for children, homes for the aged, and other types of charitable institutions." — Ed. 



20 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

New York City Visiting Committee. 

This committee of the association visits, inspects, and en- 
deavors to improve the public charitable institutions of the city 
of New York. It does most of its work through volunteers. A 
woman assistant secretary is employed to direct the work of these 
volunteer visitors and to assist in the preparation of the reports. 

A college training is desirable for most of the positions men- 
tioned above, but it is not essential. Other things being equal, 
college graduates who have had the advantage of courses in eco- 
nomics and sociology are considered somewhat better fitted for 
the work than those who have not had such courses. The im- 
portant qualifications, however, for practically all the positions 
are good judgment, tact, ability to speak in public, interest in 
the work, and a capacity for seeing its larger aspects. It is es- 
pecially important that those who are employed in most of these 
positions should be able to get on well with all sorts and condi- 
tions of people, for their work brings them in contact with a great 
variety of men and women, including public officials, officers of 
institutions, and philanthropic citizens. For most of the posi- 
tions it is possible to secure women who are both college graduates 
and graduates of a school of philanthropy, and women with such 
qualifications are preferred if they have the essential personal 
qualifications. 

PLAYGROUND WORK 

JOSEPH LEE 

First Vice-President, Playground Association of America 

The Demand. 

Playgrounds are increasing not only in Massachusetts, but in 
the United States. By an act of the Massachusetts legislature 
in 1908, 42 cities and towns of over 10,000 inhabitants were asked 
to vote on the desirability of maintaining playgrounds. Sixteen 
towns and 24 cities have voted, under the act, to maintain play- 
grounds, one for the first 10,000 and one for every additional 
20,000 inhabitants, such action to take effect in July, 1910. 
Many smaller towns also have taken or are taking steps to es- 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 



21 



tablish play centres. The Year Book of the Playground Asso- 
ciation of America gives the following summary of "cities in the 
United States having a population of 5,000 and over maintain- 
ing supervised playgrounds in 1909." 





North Atlantic 


South Atlantic 


North Central 




States 


States 


States 


Cities having playgrounds . 


149 


17 


123 


Population of cities having 








playgrounds 


10,785,710 


1,244,774 


6,659,021 


Aggregate number of play- 








grounds in 1909 .... 


873(123) 


128(17) 


416(87) 


Aggregate number of em- 








ployees in 1909 .... 


2,434(119) 


291(17) 


868(84) 


Aggregate expenditures in 








1909 


$515,412(101) 


$77,772(12) 


$631,430(49) 



Cities having playgrounds . 

Population of cities having 
playgrounds 

Aggregate number of play- 
grounds in 1909 .... 

Aggregate number of em- 
ployees in 1909 .... 

Aggregate expenditures in 
1909 



South Central 
States 



23 
1,089,601 

70(21) 

79(21) 

$30,000(12) 



Western States 



24 
1,081,653 

48(19) 

84(18) 

$98,500(10) 



United States 



336 

20,860,759 

1,535(267) 
3,756(259) 

$1,353,114(184) 



The authorities managing these playgrounds are as follows: 
park departments, school boards, playground commissioners, and 
other municipal authorities; playground associations and other 
private organizations. With the increase in playgrounds comes, 
of course, an increased demand for workers. As a rule, there are 
three instructors on a playground, a man for the older boys and 
two women for the younger boys and girls. 

Preparation. 

The teaching of play by women seems to fall into two classes, — 
teaching children under ten (sometimes the line is drawn as high 
as thirteen) and teaching the bigger girls. The requirements for 
the two purposes are somewhat different. 



22 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

1. Teaching Children under Ten. 

The profession of play teacher is a new one, and opinions still 
differ as to what the main requirements are and what is the best 
preparation for it. I myself believe that the best people to have 
charge of the small children are kindergartners for those under 
six years old, and kindergartners or other school-teachers for 
those from six to ten, and, accordingly, that the best preparation 
now available is in the normal schools. Moreover, there is a prac- 
tical reason for joining play teaching, at least of the smaller chil- 
dren, with school teaching; namely, that the two are necessarily 
carried on in different parts of the day or at different seasons of the 
year, and that for the present the times and seasons * of the play- 
ground for the small children are not long enough to take the 
whole of a person's working time, and therefore are not enough to 
afford full remunerative employment.! There is, it is true, a 

* Regulation of the Boston School Committee, April 12, 1909: During the 
season of 1909, playgrounds shall be conducted under the direction of the depart- 
ment of school hygiene as follows: — 

From April 12 to June 26 and from September 6 to November 20, from close 
of school until 5.30 o'clock p.m. daily, Sundays, holidays, and Saturday afternoons 
excepted. 

From June 28 to September 4, from 9 o'clock a.m. until 5 o'clock p.m. daily, 
Sundays, holidays, and Saturday afternoons excepted. 

t From the schedule of Boston Teachers' Salaries, 1909-10: — 

First Assistants in playgrounds (women) (two sessions) $2.00 

First Assistants in playgrounds (women) (one session) 1.20 

First Assistants in playgrounds (women) from close of school until 

5.30 p.m 1.00 

Play Teachers (men) (morning session) 3.00 

Play Teachers (men) from close of school until 5.30 p.m 1.50 

Assistant Play Teachers (men) morning session 2.50 

Assistant Play Teachers (men) from close of school until 5.30 p.m. . 1 .00 

Assistants in playgrounds (two sessions) 1.25 

Assistants in playgrounds (<me session) 75 

Assistants in sand gardens (two sessions) 75 

Assistants in sand gardens (one session) 50 

The Playground Association of America reports that instructors or first as- 
sistants are paid from $35 a month in some cities to $85 in others. The salary 
of a playground director varies in the same way from $50 to $150. "The more 
common amount paid to playground workers is as follows: for directors, $100; 
for first men assistants, $75; for first women assistants, $50." — Ed. 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 23 

place in every school system for a director of the whole, system 
of physical education and for assistant directors, but those places 
are comparatively few. 

But besides the teaching that normal schools are at present 
giving in their regular course, the play teacher should have some 
definite preparation in a course especially designed to teach play- 
ground work. A good practical knowledge of the subject can be 
gained in a summer course,* of which several are now being 
given, or in a course like that which the Boston Normal School 
has lately established for teachers who desire to include this line 
of work. 

2. Teaching the Bigger Girls, especially those over Fourteen. 

There are now schools, f furnishing full preparation for this 
especial work, in which the physical and anatomical side is more 
extensively dwelt upon than is necessary in the case of the smaller 
children. 

At present the public teaching of play in Boston is almost 
wholly in charge of the School Committee, J which requires at 

* In March, 1910, the Sargent School of Physical Training, Cambridge, Mass., 
gave a series of twenty-four lectures on the theory of playground work, and in 
the summer will carry on a special course in connection with the Harvard Summer 
School. The New York School of Philanthropy and the Chicago School of Civics 
and Philanthropy will give special playground courses in the summer of 1910. 
The Public Athletic League and Children's Playground Association of Baltimore 
carries on similar instruction from January 4 to May 31, 1910. — Ed. 

f E.g., The Boston Normal School of Gymnastics (now Department of 
Hygiene and Physical Training, Wellesley College) and the Sargent School of 
Physical Training. For further particulars as to normal work refer to the Play- 
ground Association of America, 1 Madison Avenue, New York City. — Ed. 

t Regulation passed by the School Committee of Boston, April 26, 1909: 
Instructors in athletics and assistant instructors in athletics must hold a certificate 
of qualification including those positions. Play teachers and assistant play 
teachers must hold a certificate of qualification, elementary school, Class B, or 
a higher certificate. First assistants in playgrounds must hold a certificate of 
qualification, elementary school, Class B, or a higher certificate, or a kindergarten 
certificate, or a special physical training certificate for high schools, or a playground 
certificate. Assistants in playgrounds and assistants in sand gardens must hold 
a certificate of qualification, elementary school, Class B, or higher certificate, 
or a kindergarten certificate, or a special physical training certificate, or a play- 
ground certificate, or be pupils in regular attendance in the Boston Normal School. 



24 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

least two years in the Boston Normal School for playground work 
and graduation from the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics 
for teaching the high-school girls. 

As to What Play Teaching is. 

1. For Children under Ten. 

The first test of a successful playground is that the children 
shall be there. There are playgrounds run in the most ex- 
emplary manner which the children cannot be induced to attend. 
This sort of absent treatment is not the most effective. In order 
that the children may be there, the first requisite is that there 
shall be something to do which they find worth while. The ques- 
tion of fitting out a playground is a special one that cannot be 
gone into here, but an important matter for the teacher to see to 
is that what apparatus there is shall be in order and shall be in 
use. If there are unused swings or sand boxes or tilts or teeter 
ladders, there is something the matter with the management. 

Besides apparatus there must be attractive games. Those 
for the little children under six are largely of the dramatic and 
non-competitive variety. In these games the teacher will, as 
a rule, find it necessary to participate, besides teaching them in 
the first place. The children's power of social construction and 
adhesion is, as a rule, too weak to stand alone. After somewhere 
about the age of six the element of competition will come in more 
and more. At first the games will combine the two elements, as 
in hunt the squirrel or London bridge. Afterwards they will 
become frankly competitive, as in hill dill, prisoners' base, and 
the various forms of tag. 

St. For Girls over Ten. 

The bigger girls may perhaps be usefully divided into two 
classes, those from eleven to fourteen and those over fourteen. 
Just what should be done about them is still to some extent a 
matter of surmise. In the main the age from eleven to fourteen 
may perhaps be said to be the really critical one, because upon 
the use of those years will depend the use of the years that fol- 
low, in which the good or evil results become more manifest. The 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 25 

great thing to be aimed at is that the girl from eleven ta fourteen 
shall remain a tomboy. She ought to play hard, lively games, — 
with her brothers and other boys as much as possible. She can- 
not play football, and it seems to be true that the most strenuous 
forms of competition are not good for her; but she can play every 
running game, from tag to hare and hounds, and games like 
prisoners' base, which have not been taken up by the colleges 
and in which, accordingly, the competitive spirit has not been 
abnormally developed. Throwing has been found to be good for 
girls, and baseball accordingly is a good game for them. Al- 
though competition should not be excessive, good absorbing games 
are a prime necessity. Skating is one of the best forms of ex- 
ercise for girls at any age. Theatricals are good, and should be 
begun before the self-conscious age of fourteen. 

For girls over fourteen the same sort of games are still to be 
desired, though perhaps they will play them less with boys and 
be less willing to play them on an open playground where every- 
body can look on. Dancing is at this period easily the most 
popular exercise, — not necessarily dancing with boys. Folk 
dancing and fancy dancing, in girls' classes and wholly without 
spectators, seem to have an immense attraction and power of 
exhilaration. The development of star performers is to be re- 
ligiously avoided. 



THE SOCIAL CENTRE MOVEMENT 

EDWARD J. WARD 

Supervisor of Social Centres and Playgrounds in Rochester, New York 

The use of the public school buildings as social centres, as it 
has been developed in Rochester, means equipping them with 
gymnasium apparatus and baths, with circulating libraries and 
games, with stereopticon lantern and other facilities for the giv- 
ing of lectures and entertainments, and opening these buildings 
in the evenings for the use of the people in the neighborhood as 
community club-houses. Our method is to have the building 



26 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

opened for a part of the evenings in the week for the use of the 
men and boys, a part of the evenings for the women and girls, 
and at least one evening in each week for all together. The 
men are organized into a Men's Civic Club, the women into a 
Women's Civic Club, the boys into their club, and the girls into 
theirs. Each of these clubs holds a weekly meeting: each of 
them is a self-governing organization. For the Boys' Club a 
man is required as director. Another man is required to take 
charge of the men's and boys' gymnasium work. For the Girls' 
Club a woman is required as director, and a woman with her 
assistant is required to take charge of the women's and girls' 
gymnasium work. The position of gymnasium director in the 
social centres is similar to that of directors in other gymnasiums. 
The position of librarian in the school social centres is also similar 
to that of librarians in general, except that for this position one 
needs not so much technical knowledge as to indexing and find- 
ing of books as a broad, intimate acquaintance with books and 
people which makes it possible for one to inspire love of good 
literature on the part of all sorts of folks. 

The position of director of girls' clubs in the social centres 
requires a new sort of qualifications. The qualifications of the 
ordinary social worker are not sufficient, for the social centres 
are not institutions of uplift for the poor people alone, as are 
social settlements. In order to fill the position of club director 
in a public school social centre, a woman needs the adaptability 
which shall make her the much-needed missing link between 
classes and creeds and races. She deals not with women and 
girls of any one station in society, but with those of all stations. 
In order to be successful, she must have the broadest spirit of 
democracy and human interest as the foundation of her character. 
Added to this, she needs ingenuity and inventiveness for the 
planning and arranging of programs for the clubs. She needs 
parliamentary ability in order to develop the spirit of self- 
government. She needs a strength of personality which shall 
make the question of order in these club meetings a matter to be 
taken for granted, never needing active enforcement. In view of 
the fact that the Young Women's and Girls' Clubs frequently 
entertain the members of the Boys' Club, the Girls' Club director 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 27 

for social centre work should have also the qualifications of the 
best sort of chaperon. Physical training, musical and literary 
culture, are, of course, desirable, but the great things needed are 
poise and breadth of interest and sympathy, combined with 
initiative and tact. 

There is no position now opening up which offers to women 
more splendid opportunities for service in developing the civic 
spirit of broad acquaintanceship than this position of director of 
girls' clubs which meet in public school buildings. 

The question of remuneration in this, as in other work, depends 
upon the qualifications of the individual, upon the public recog- 
nition of the value of the service, and upon the "supply" of per- 
sons qualified. The pay for the work for subordinate positions is 
$2.50 per evening. The pay for director, which corresponds to 
the principal, is $4 per evening. Of course, as the work broadens 
out and increases, the pay will also increase. 

A number of cities are just now beginning the use of their school 
buildings as social centres. New York City has opened 30 
schools, Philadelphia about 15, and Pittsburg 3. In addition to 
these which are now actually engaged in the work, the following 
cities are about to begin: Boston, Mass., Buffalo, N.Y., Colum- 
bus, Ohio. Besides these a number of other cities are apparently 
getting ready to open their school buildings: Syracuse, N.Y., 
Cleveland, Ohio, Baltimore, Md., Los Angeles, Cal., and others. 
The next few years are likely to see a very great demand for this 
work; the social spirit is all abroad, and public school extension 
is a most obvious channel for its expression. A satisfactory 
arrangement, by which one may combine two sorts of similar 
work, is service as a playground director during the summer 
and as a social centre director in the winter. This is the plan 
followed by several of the directors in Rochester. 



28 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



ECONOMIC RESEARCH 

SUSAN M. KINGSBURY 

Assistant Professor of History and Economics, Simmons College 

College students who have found themselves interested in the 
discovery of economic principles and concerned about the solu- 
tion of economic problems, have proved an ability to think logi- 
cally and clearly, and have a sense of proportion and perspective, 
may well consider specialization along economic lines. Fitness 
for research in economic subjects requires the powers outlined 
for all research work. 

The initial preparation for such work should consist of college 
courses in history and economics. For advanced training there 
are at present, in addition to the graduate research courses in 
economics and social science in all of our universities, a number of 
institutions which are offering special training for research, and 
are granting fellowships and scholarships varying from $100 to 
$1,000. The object of these studentships, in the words of 
the Director of Research in the Chicago school, is to afford 
"experience as enumerators with a study of the problem to 
be attacked on the theoretical side, and exercises in the use of 
the various technical devices for presenting the results of the 
enquiry." 

Such opportunities are to be found in research departments of 
the New York School of Philanthropy, the Chicago School of 
Civics and Philanthropy, the School for Social Workers in Boston, 
and the Women's Educational and Industrial Union in Boston, 
while the American Bureau of Industrial Research conducts its 
work through fellowships in connection with the University of 
Wisconsin. 

The actual present number of positions in economic research 
and the compensation are most difficult to determine. It must be 
understood that for the present at least not only is the number of 
such opportunities in any one field of pure research limited, but 
the position may be brief and will probably not be permanent,, 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 29 

and, furthermore, may take the woman to any part of tM country, 
although such experience should distinctly lead to administrative 
work of a similar type. For this very reason the salaries should be 
relatively high. The sum paid to the enumerator or the college 
girl serving an apprenticeship with no previous training may be 
$12 to $15 per week, while the salary of the trained worker will 
vary with her experience and the responsibilities and originality 
of the investigation from $1,000 to $2,000 a year or more. When 
the power of administration is combined with that of research, 
the income may be proportionately greater. 

Positions in pure research exist to-day or have existed during 
the past year under State and national bureaus of labor, 
the Russell Sage Foundation, State and national special com- 
missions, child labor committees, the Consumers' League, 
the Women's Trade Union League, and other private organiza- 
tions.* 

Training in economic research may lead, therefore, to such posi- 
tions as: — 

1. Social settlement workers, where the investigation would 
concern itself with the life of the people. This would include the 
study of the wages, standard of living, and savings or thrift, of 
the workers. 

2. Investigators of industries, of the relations of employer and 
employee or of landlord and tenant, and of such problems as the 
supply and demand of labor, wages, hours, protection, and gen- 
eral conditions of labor. Positions are to be found under na- 
tional and State bureaus of labor, special national investigations, 
such as the commission on the labor of women and children and 
the immigration commission, State recess commissions and com- 
mittees, and private studies conducted by such organizations as 
the Russell Sage Foundation. Such experience or training also 
opens positions as factory inspectors, f tenement-house inspec- 

* Seventeen responses to twenty-seven inquiries showed twelve organizations 
carrying on or having conducted some line of inquiry. To state that at least 
one hundred such positions have been open during the past year or two will not 
exaggerate the opportunity. 

t Forty-seven factory inspectorships in the several States "may" or "must" 
be filled by women. Of these inspectors, eight in Ohio are called "visitors." 



30 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

tors, lodging-house inspectors, and workers who are concerned 
with the enforcement of the laws touching the industrial welfare 
of the community. 

3. Leaders in the promotion of the welfare of the group from 
the financial and physical side, in organizations which have to do 
with the relation between employer and employee and the effort 
of the employee to improve his position. Such occupations are 
those of secretaryships to organizations, — the Consumers' League, 
thrift societies, or trade unions. 

4. Educational leaders of industrial workers. The responsi- 
bilities of the public to aid the people to a knowledge of the oppor- 
tunity for employment and to direct young people into the fields 
for which they are fitted are creating a demand for administrators 
of employment agencies and vocational counsellors. Such posi- 
tions require a knowledge of the industries, together with the 
power and training of the psychologist to judge and of the edu- 
cator to direct the individual. 



MUNICIPAL RESEARCH 
WILLIAM H. ALLEN 

DlRECTOB OF THE BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL RESEARCH, NEW YORK 

What is Municipal Research? 

A search for facts that concern municipal welfare with special 
reference to governmental responsibility for conditions. The 
title is broad enough to include almost any other kind of research, 
for there is no truth of science or medicine or pathology or soci- 
ology or pedagogics that is not involved in successful adminis- 
tration of an American city. The term "municipal," as distinct 
from other forms of research, has been given its color by the 
New York Bureau of Municipal Research, whose charter pur- 
poses are as follows: — 

To promote efficient and economical municipal government; to 
promote the adoption of scientific methods of accounting and of 
reporting the details of municipal business, with a view to facili- 
tating the work of public officials; to secure constructive pub- 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 31 

licity in matters pertaining to municipal problems; and to these 
ends to collect, to classify, to analyze, to correlate, to interpret, 
and to publish facts as to the administration of municipal govern- 
ment. 

In the course of four years its workers have found it necessary 
to study infant mortality, part time, truancy, milk inspection, 
physical examination of school-children, dock leases, ferry costs, 
tenement-house administration, budget-making, hospital manage- 
ment, park revenues, loafing employees, diversion of hospital 
funds, charter-making, public baths, school reports, city debt, 
playground management, hospital helpers, highway repairing, 
police supplies, the law and practice in cases of perjury, etc. 
They have had direct and indirect contact with employees and 
officials, high and low, responsible for the above municipal activi- 
ties, and besides have had contact with the tenement resident, 
the purchaser of unsafe milk, the sick child, the indigent and the 
rich, ministers, congregations, social workers, editors, machine 
politicians, and political reformers. 

The scope of municipal research in any community is as broad 
as the activities of that community. Anything and anybody 
may fall in its field that is or ought to be taxed or punished or 
inconvenienced or educated by the community as a whole. Pub- 
lic health, public education, public charity, public order, public 
safety, public investment, or public insurance, — whatever belongs 
to any of them, — may, over night, become the chief concern of 
municipal research. 

Kinds of Opening. 

For these varied subjects and varied tasks, workers of varied 
qualifications are required. Investigation in the field, clerical 
work, statistical research, stenography, editorial work, proof- 
reading, telephone operating, interpreting, secretarial work, 
publicity work, — college women are needed in all of these 
positions. 

Number of Openings. 

There are Bureaus of Municipal Research in Greater New 
York, Philadelphia, Memphis, and Cincinnati, with growing 



32 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

staffs. There is none as yet in Boston. While obviously the 
openings are not yet numerous, the methods and point of view 
of municipal research are required in a great many positions 
adjacent to municipal activities. So many cities are in need of 
municipal research that it is certain a forced supply will not 
only stimulate a demand, but will, in a very short time, run 
behind the demand. 

The New York Bureau of Municipal Research now has 35 
employees, of whom 16 are women. Of 4 graduates of women's 
colleges, at present one is an investigator in the field, one is in 
charge of bulletins and office supplies, messengers and clippings, 
one is doing editorial work chiefly, ©ne is a volunteer doing 
statistical work in connection with schools. 

It is as yet relatively difficult to use women as field investi- 
gators, because we work with and through city employees respon- 
sible for fields studied, and these officials and those under their 
authority are men who prefer to collaborate — again as yet — with 
men. For some time to come municipal research will rely for 
its field investigators chiefly upon men. For its office statistical 
work, for reporters, writers, proof-readers, secretaries, women will 
be in special demand until potentially competent women are as 
rare as potentially competent men. In smaller communities 
there is a probability that municipal research will come sooner if 
college women fit themselves to urge, to organize, to finance, and 
to do municipal research work. The need is unlimited. The 
demand will soon follow. Will college women fit themselves to 
lead? The New York Bureau could take research students as 
apprentices at their own expense to an unlimited number and 
give them a wide range of experience, but for some time to come 
will add to its own staff but one or two women a year. It is then, 
in other words, a better market- — at present — for those who wish 
to trade their time for training than for those who wish to sell 
their time. 

Length of Time of Training. 

It takes from three to twelve months in an office for the average 
college man or woman to develop a figure conscience — to be able 
to add, to figure correctly, to compute percentage reliably, to 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 33 

write letters just right. Previous courses in economic and public 
administration, history, and natural science, all seem to help 
more than mathematics, for example. It is easier to give accu- 
racy to a person who can visualize preventable mortality than to 
give power of visualization to an unimaginative, accurate person. 
To be quite candid, there seems to be no certain relation between 
college mathematics and accuracy in an office, or between after- 
college horizon and cultural studies in college. Any previous 
training that makes one trainable, imaginative, ambitious to earn 
not a mere passing mark, but an average of 98 per cent, in 
practical work, is good training for municipal research. 

What are Salaries? 

The present salaries are not a fair index to what municipal 
research offers. The highest salary we now pay is $1,500. Be- 
cause municipal business has so many sides, it is safe to say that 
the same person will at the end of five years be able to earn more 
in any other line because of work in municipal research. 



SOCIAL SERVICE 



THE NEW YORK ASSOCIATION FOR IMPROVING 
THE CONDITION OF THE POOR 

HALLE D. WOODS 

Assistant Supebintendent of Relief 

The New York x\ssociation for Improving the Condition of 
the Poor offers a field of work that ought to be of special interest 
to college women who are desiring to enter upon social service. 
From 6,000 to 10,000 families are under the care of the associ- 
ation each year, and while the immediate task is to relieve their 
distress, beyond this lies the opportunity for raising the standard 
of living of individual families and for gathering together facts as 



34 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

to the environment of the poor and as to their physical, mental, 
and moral condition, — facts which show the causes of poverty, 
which disclose the special evils to be overcome and point the way 
to needed reforms. 

Visitors. 

From 25 to 30 visitors are needed to carry on the work of 
the Relief Department. Three of these are men, the others 
women of education, experience, tact, sympathy, and good 
judgment. Women who have been interested in teaching find 
that in taking up the work of visiting the poor they have not 
fundamentally changed their profession, for the work is largely 
educational. The difference is that the family, as a whole, now 
becomes the unit of work instead of one child. Each visitor has 
under her care from 75 to 100 families, who, because of illness, 
lack of work, or shiftlessness, are unable to support themselves. 
The appeal is usually for some material aid, such as food, rent, 
clothing, or fuel, but while giving this aid the visitor is compelled 
to make a study of the home conditions, and to devise some 
plan that will put the family once more in an independent 
position, and, if possible, establish for them a higher standard 
of living. 

This means advising those who do not know how best to help 
themselves, giving encouragement and sympathy to those who 
are disheartened, helping men and women to overcome their 
lack of former opportunity, working with them in the struggle 
against inherited tendencies, teaching ignorant mothers how to 
care for their homes and their children, looking well to the physi- 
cal, mental, and moral condition of all members of the family, 
putting them in touch with dispensaries, hospitals, schools, 
churches, social settlements, playgrounds, parks, libraries, and 
museums, and trying in every way to secure for them their right- 
ful heritage of health, knowledge, comfort, and happiness. 

Special Teachers. 

Since the unhappy conditions of the home are so often due to 
the ignorance of the wife and mother, a few special teachers are 
needed; e.g., — 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 35 

(a) One dietitian and teacher of cooking, who goes to the home 
to instruct the mother whose children are underfed or wrongly- 
fed, giving lessons in practical cooking, planning carefully with 
the mother the meals of the family, and giving at the same time 
systematic lessons in the wise expenditure of money. 

(6) One sewing teacher, who instructs women how to make the 
garments given out by the Association. 

(c) Ten nurses : 3 who visit mothers before and after confine- 
ment to instruct them regarding their own care and later regard- 
ing the care of the baby; 2 who visit cases of general illness 
and teach mothers how to watch over the physical welfare of 
the children; 5 who visit certain dispensaries and then go to the 
homes to see that the mothers carry out the instructions of the 
physician. 

Supervisors. 

The supervisory work consists in overseeing the work of 5 
or 6 visitors, carrying on any necessary correspondence, reading 
and hearing the daily reports of the visitors, watching the expen- 
ditures, suggesting ways and means of relief, giving decisions in 
troublesome cases, and in general acting as guide, counsellor, and 
friend both to visitors and applicants. 

Research Work. 

One aim of the association is to use the knowledge gained in 
the homes for the permanent betterment of social conditions. To 
this end full study is made of facts bearing upon social and eco- 
nomic problems, and it is the task of one worker to put these 
facts in statistical form and issue reports that show the cause and 
effect of some one evil that is affecting the community. 

Training and Experience. 

There is no fixed requirement as to the training and experience 
of those entering upon the work of the association. Previous 
experience in social work is always helpful, and trained insight 
into character is invaluable. Other things being equal, preference 
is given to college women and to those who have specialized in 



36 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

economics and sociology, but very many women have become 
successful visitors without such training. 

There are about 70 women upon the staff of the A. I. C. P., 
but the positions of most interest to those who will read these 
pages are the following: one superintendent of relief, 1 assistant 
superintendent of relief, 2 reception agents, 4 supervisors, 25 to 
30 visitors, 1 dietitian, 1 sewing teacher, 10 nurses, 1 statistician, 
1 subscription clerk, 1 secretary to general agent. 

Fresh-air work, May to October, requires: 2 supervisors, 10 
to 12 visitors, 1 superintendent of Sea Breeze, one secretary to 
superintendent. 

The salaries of these positions vary from $40 a month, given 
to beginners, to $2,000 a year. 



CHARITY ORGANIZATION WORK 

MARY GRACE WORTHINGTON 

Supervisor of Field Work, New York School of Philanthropy 

Charity Organization work offers a much wider scope and 
a more diversified field of action for the influence of educated 
women than is at all generally known. A very brief explanation 
of the lines upon which the Charity Organization Society in the 
city of New York is administered will show how well adapted it 
is to initiate new movements for the improvement of social and 
moral conditions, and what efficient means it has to execute 
them successfully. 

The Central Council, the governing body of the society, 
is composed of 33 members, all of whom serve without com- 
pensation. The work of the Council is distributed among 
a number of standing committees responsible to the Council. 
These committees, which are appointed by the president, include 
members irrespective "of residence or contribution, and the 
Society has been able to enlist on different Committees men and 
women in other parts of the country to deal with matters that 
are national rather than local/' The chairman of each commit- 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 37 

tee is a member of the council, but the other members need not 
be, so that the people best fitted by knowledge and service may 
be used for the efficient work of new undertakings. There are 
now 20 of these standing committees, each in charge of a dis- 
tinctive part of the work. The work is organized in bureaus, 
with a paid executive head, secretary, and assistants, and some 
of the positions are already filled by women, who have the con- 
genial task of planning and developing new methods to increase 
the constructive power of social work. 

Through its belief in co-operation and its endeavor to use in 
the most effectual way whatever the community has to offer 
for the benefit of the poor and the propaganda of reform, the 
society continues to demonstrate to the public the value of the 
co-ordination of charitable effort. The necessity of some commu- 
nity reform — the knowledge of which we may imagine to be due 
to some woman's careful study of the conditions under which the 
lives of the poor are misspent or exploited — is thoroughly ex- 
plained to the public, and through the efforts of one of the stand- 
ing committees an object-lesson of practical remedial reform is 
given until the proper civic authorities have been aroused to their 
responsibilities, when the work is turned over to them and the 
society left free to initiate some new improvement. Present 
examples of such work are the Tenement House Committee and 
the Committee for the Prevention of Tuberculosis. 

Besides its work in co-operative and constructive reform the 
society is especially equipped to handle relief funds in times of 
emergency, to investigate charitable institutions for the informa- 
tion of donors, to prevent the duplication of charitable agencies 
and to supplement them whenever necessary, and to use its influ- 
ence against unwise appropriation for supposed charitable pur- 
poses. It also edits a journal of constructive philanthropy, 
called the Survey, formerly Charities and the Commons, and has 
lately inaugurated a Field Department, for the extension of organ- 
ized charity in different parts of the country. With the active 
support of this department new societies are constantly being 
formed. 

Women have been and will be employed in all these activities. 
In New York the society employs 166 people, of whom 132 are 



38 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

women and 34 men. About one-half of the women are clerks and 
stenographers, getting salaries that vary from $5 to $20 a week. 
The salaries of the women employed as heads of bureaus and 
departments, supervisors, secretaries, and members of the edi- 
torial staff of the Survey, compare favorably with those of women 
teachers, and range from $900 to $1,800 a year. A few at the 
top reach even a higher figure. Of the 66 women in the higher 
positions, not quite one-half have been trained in the School of 
Philanthropy, but the rest have had either a period of training 
in the society itself or experience in other forms of social work. 
It is now considered necessary for every woman, whether she is 
a college graduate or not, to have had some special training before 
she undertakes any philanthropic work. 

The society does an extensive work through its district com- 
mittees, of which there are 11 in New York (Manhattan and 
the Bronx) . These committees have charge of the families within 
their separate boundaries, and attend to their own government, 
subject to the control of the council. Each district has an agent, 
a stenographer, and often a visiting nurse. Women now fill all 
these positions. The agent's salary varies from $780 to $1,200 
a year, with certain advancement for any woman with special 
ability. The assistant agents are paid from $60 to $70 a month. 

These assistant positions should be regarded by the student of 
sociology as medical students regard their dispensary practice, 
as offering the very best opportunity to get the training necessary 
for positions of more responsibility. It is not sufficiently under- 
stood that the District Office, composed of trained workers, is 
the clinic of the social movement, and that these positions can 
and should be used by women students to study social forces. 

Special training must, however, be added, for there is, perhaps, 
no part of the work in which the social student needs more super- 
vision and direction than in dealing with the individual case. It 
is an art which can use the highest abilities, and out of which 
surprising results can be developed by the force of individual 
character and properly directed effort. Proper investigation is 
the foundation of all good work, and requires a high order of 
disciplined intelligence. 

There is a growing demand for trained women to fill the posi- 






SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 39 

r 

tions of general secretaries of Associated Charities in places out- 
side of New York. In such positions a woman would have the 
opportunity of using all her executive power to create co-operation 
between various charities, and in many instances would be asked 
to advise in the administration of public relief. These positions 
start with a salary of $900 or $1,200 and increase with the success 
of the work. 

The New York School of Philanthropy, United Charities Build- 
ing, 105 East 22d Street, New York City, is under the care of 
the Committee on Philanthropic Education of the Charity Or- 
ganization Society, and offers two courses in applied philan- 
thropy. 

1st. The Summer Course, June 20 to July 29, 1910. One 
year's experience in social work is required, and a registration fee 
of $20. It aims to give a brief normal course for experienced 
social workers. 

2d. The Winter Course, beginning September 28, 1910, and 
ending May 31, 1911. This is a two years' course. One year is 
given to required residence work, consisting of lectures and class 
instruction by experts and six months of supervised practical 
field work, two of which must be spent in learning Charity Or- 
ganization Methods. The second year may be devoted to super- 
vised professional employment combined with special instruction, 
or to advanced work at the school. The fee is $100. This course 
is designed for the beginner in social work. 

The school has a Bureau of Social Research (Russell Sage 
Foundation) , where intensive investigations are made into some 
of the present living conditions in the United States. A few re- 
search fellowships with stipends varying from $500 to $1,500 are 
awarded to those with some special gift or training for research 
work. The winter and -summer schools have a number of fellow- 
ships as well, all of which are awarded equally to men and women. 
Since the active work of the Bureau of Social Research was be- 
gun in October, 1907, there have been 10 women fellows and as- 
sistants and 11 men. Of these, 4 of the women and 4 of the men 
were senior fellows with salaries of $1,000 to $1,500. Informa- 
tion in regard to these fellowships will be given upon request. 

It is important that educated women should know that there 



40 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

is an opportunity in the varied work of the Charity Organization 
Society for the worthy exercise of their highest powers, also that 
the training in method given by the society is the best prepara- 
tion for other kinds of social work. 



OPPORTUNITIES IN CHILD-SAVING WORK 

C. C. CARSTENS, Ph.D. 

Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children 

Several years ago a bright and attractive lad of eight lost his 
father and went to live with his grandfather, but at this point 
any apparent similarity with little Lord Fauntleroy ceased. His 
mother, weak in physique as well as ambition, was able to pro- 
vide only for herself and the boy's younger sister. The grand- 
father took the lad in from a sense of duty, but had no affection 
for him, and it was not long before things became "too hot" for 
him, and he ran away. A childless family of refinement and 
ample means in the same town had longed to have a child in 
their home. The boy was transplanted, and there he found not 
only enough to satisfy the necessities of life, but also that warm 
sympathy he had instinctively craved as his birthright. The 
story in these bare outlines is quickly told, but the task as it 
was worked out by an experienced, trained woman required 
education and tact. 

To give a child the influences of a good home, to put a wayward 
boy or girl on the right track, to win an adolescent from the road 
that leads to destruction back upon the path to a wholesome, 
successful life, with all the physical, intellectual, and spiritual 
problems that each such task implies, are all in the day's work. 
Not only these tasks, but the yet more difficult adjustments in 
family life which concern themselves with improving the char- 
acter and preserving the integrity of a child's home, are indeed 
worthy of the best-trained minds and hearts. The theory and 
practice of this work are now well understood, and the results 
are so successful in their ultimate analysis that child-saving work 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 41 

r 

brings perhaps a larger measure of satisfaction than any other 
form of social work. 

While it is difficult to define accurately the qualifications that 
such work requires, the task may be compared with that of a 
successful teacher. But just as it is more complex in that the 
social worker must deal with all the child's interests, it is also 
more satisfying when plans that have been carefully made come 
to fruition. Men and women who are now taking the direction 
of such enterprises are in large measure successful college or uni- 
versity graduates, who see in this work a form of service to their 
town and to their commonwealth. 

The field is rapidly widening, and the tasks are being special- 
ized. Not only are women filling the more important positions in 
children's aid work, but some of the most difficult prosecutions of 
the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Chil- 
dren of last year were planned and carried through successfully 
on the basis of the work of its women agents. Women are now 
filling the position of superintendent of some of the children's 
aid societies in the States of Massachusetts and New York. They 
are visitors and volunteer agents of the metropolitan children's 
aid societies and societies for the prevention of cruelty to chil- 
dren in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. They are super- 
intendents and matrons of industrial schools for girls. 

A young woman of twenty -five, who does not have a passion for 
teaching, but who is likely to drift along the line of least resist- 
ance into that work, may very well consider the work of child- 
saving in one of its many forms. A year or two in a school of 
philanthropy would lead to a broader outlook and a considerably 
larger salary at the start, but even without such training, there 
are openings for capable educated women where they may begin 
their apprenticeship at from $30 to $50 a month. Those who are 
successful may in a period of from three to five years raise their 
salaries to $800 or $900. The salaries of capable women visitors 
in New York and Boston vary from $600 to $1,200, while de- 
partment heads are earning from $1,200 to $1,500. Assistant 
superintendents of the larger societies or superintendents of the 
smaller organizations are paid from $1,200 to $2,000 per year. 
The salaries of visitors, agents, or volunteer probation officers 



42 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

of societies for the prevention of cruelty to children in Boston, 
New York, and Philadelphia range from $600 to $1,500. Super- 
intendents of industrial schools, as well as other officials who 
are connected with the work for children in various departments, 
are also frequently recruited from experienced child-saving visi- 
tors. Their salaries are still larger. The superintendent of an 
industrial school in Massachusetts with a salary of $1,800 a year 
besides her home was recently drafted into another State with a 
salary of $2,500 and home. 

To summarize: Social workers who have previously been suc- 
cessful teachers rarely regret having entered child-saving work. 
The field is widening, and the tasks are being more specialized so 
that a larger range of ability is in demand. The salaries of those 
in the ranks are as yet somewhat less than those of teachers, 
but these also are increasing. Experienced and well-balanced 
women are constantly sought for positions of responsibility at 
salaries that can challenge comparison with those paid in other 
work requiring the same training and responsibility. A wider 
range of opportunity is open for the successful children's worker 
than for the teacher. 



SOCIAL WORK IN HOSPITALS 

RICHARD C. CABOT, M.D. 

What it is. 

Within the past four years a number of hospitals in Boston, 
New York, Chicago, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, have realized 
that the aches and pains for which patients seek relief are often 
the results of insufficient food, of bad housing conditions, of igno- 
rance as to the simplest rules of hygiene, or of worry, fear, and 
depression. Since treatment of the patient's symptoms is useless 
unless their cause is reached, and since this cause turns out often 
to be social and economic rather than medical, social workers are, 
in many cases, necessary to efficient treatment or to any treat- 
ment that is not a waste of time and money. Adequate diet, 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 43 

fresh air, sound teeth, decent sleeping accommodations, are indis- 
pensable for the recovery of health in the innumerable cases 
where disease is the fruit of malnutrition. But doctors and hos- 
pital superintendents have not time nor training to supply such 
needs. Domestic, industrial, and psychical maladjustments must 
be combated by some one who studies the person as well as his 
symptom — the person in his family relationships or his financial 
difficulties and his mental and emotional conflicts. This is the 
task of the social worker in a hospital. 

Cases in which the doctor feels that he needs assistance are 
by him referred to the social worker, who has a desk and office 
hours at the hospital during the clinic hours (usually 9 to 1), 
and visits patients' homes in the afternoons. She is in constant 
touch with the other charities of the city, and constitutes a bureau 
of reference and information in relation to them. She keeps the 
run of the various hospitals, so that patients needing hospital 
care may be placed where they belong. She teaches the simple 
hygienic rules that are so little known to many patients, loans 
(in appropriate cases) the money necessary for flat-foot plates, 
false teeth, trusses, and other apparatus, and labors to overcome, 
by friendly explanation, the rooted prejudice which many patients 
feel against hospitals and operations. When patients are about 
to leave the hospital wards, she tries to arrange that they shall 
not be "dumped," half cured, on the sidewalk, but shall be en- 
abled to finish convalescence elsewhere, that the good results of 
hospital treatment may not be annulled by its sudden interrup- 
tion. 

Hospital machinery and the rush and bustle of clinics almost 
obliterate that human touch, that personal and intimate relation 
to their physician, which most sick people need. The social 
worker can, to a certain extent, fill this lack. She can do much 
to make the hospital and the visits of the patient less grim and 
discouraging. The hospital physician has no time to talk with 
patients about their plans, their discouragements, their fears and 
worries, as he does with his private patients. Yet hospital pa- 
tients need this as much as private patients, and in many cases 
cannot be cured without it. They recognize the social worker 
as part of the hospital, readily impart to her confidences that they 



44 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

would withhold from most other would-be helpers, and receive 
her advice with a confidence that no one else but the doctor 
inspires. 

The social worker in a hospital has, therefore, a wonderfully 
favorable opportunity to exercise any capacity for sympathetic 
listening, wise counsel, and moral re-enforcement that she may 
possess. Many a patient whom the doctors send to her for advice 
is at the critical moment of his life. Never again, perhaps, will 
there be so favorable an opportunity to influence his (or her) 
whole future career. This is, perhaps, most strongly felt when 
we face the plight of the girl who learns for the first time at the 
hospital that she must face the world as "fallen," or live a life of 
deception to avoid it. 

Prepakation. 

The training for social work such as can be had at the Schools 
for Social Workers in Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and 
Chicago, is the most important study that one can choose in fitting 
one's self for this work. A knowledge of nursing is also of de- 
cided but of subordinate value. Some such acquaintance with 
physiology, hygiene, psychology, and sociology as can be acquired 
in college, will go a long distance towards equipping a girl for 
social work in hospitals. 

Yet, as in all professions, the most important preparation is 
to be born for it, and the next most important is life itself, — its 
strains and stresses, its disciplines and its inspiration. 

Remuneration. 

The salaries paid at the Massachusetts General Hospital for 
work of this kind range from $700 to $1,200 a year. Those who 
take up the work should beware of offers for half time at half 
salary. In nine cases out of ten this means that the worker is 
gradually drawn into doing full time work for half the proper 
salary. 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 45 



HOSPITAL SOCIAL WORK 

GARNET ISABEL PELTON 

Original Head-worker in the Social Service Department op the Massachusetts 
General Hospital 

Hospital social work, as at present organized, has been an 
attempt to do chiefly the four following things: — 

1. To connect patients obviously needing further assistance 
with the proper relief agencies. 

2. When necessary, to follow up patients in their homes, in 
order to secure the carrying out of the prescribed treatment, — a 
task which often includes the readjustment of home conditions 
and the instruction of the family. As such investigation is in 
many cases a valuable aid to diagnosis, the hospital can turn out 
more thorough work and check the return of patients. 

3. To find out the financial condition of needy patients 
or those suspected of being frauds. The hospital trust funds de- 
signed for free beds are thus administered more economically and 
responsibly. The competent financial investigator at Mt. Sinai 
Hospital in New York gets the information required in each case, 
and gives wise and sympathetic help to such patients as are really 
needy. Incidentally, she saves the hospital the amount of her 
salary. 

4. In general, to provide the element of friendliness and per- 
sonal interest, which is so likely to be crowded out in the hurry 
and routine of hospital work and which is so essential to a knowl- 
edge of the patient and to successful treatment. 

A social worker dealing with patients in the wards of a hospital 
finds that her largest task, besides referring patients to other 
charities, is the after-care of convalescents, especially children, 
and of chronic cases. Convalescence in the homes of the poor 
is almost impossible, and convalescent homes are scarce, yet on 
account of the pressure of acute cases at the hospitals patients 
are usually discharged when the convalescent stage is barely 
reached. Bad home conditions, with ignorance of hygiene and 



46 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

of the importance of care at this period, bring a long train of evils, 
such as tuberculosis and other chronic diseases. In such instances 
the splendid effort of the hospital is largely wasted unless supple- 
mented by after-care, teaching, and betterment of home condi- 
tions. Children still in a delicate condition, discharged to 
ignorant mothers and wretched homes, are a main feature of this 
difficulty, and here the hospital joins the infant mortality fight. 
With chronics the extra difficulties to be met are those of con- 
tinued home care, of occupation diverting or remunerating, and 
often of support. This threefold problem of after-care offers a 
chance for the study of home and working conditions in relation 
to physical breakdown, the value of which, both to the individual 
and the community, it is not easy to estimate. 

In out-patient departments or dispensaries (the terms are used 
synonymously) the greater number of patients sent to the office 
of the Social Service Department by the clinic doctors need to be 
referred and piloted for specific help to the proper sources, such 
as different kinds of relief societies, special hospitals, sanatoriums, 
homes, interested individuals, and other benevolent agencies. 

After this first need of linking the hospital with other philan- 
thropic agencies, the ever-present problem of tuberculosis is likely 
to loom up in a large way. This is not true in New York, which 
is thoroughly districted with special clinics for this disease. 
Where, however, the municipality does not assume its control, 
tuberculosis is found in general dispensaries in all its insidious 
forms. The doctor prescribes entire rest, fresh air, and nourish- 
ing food for consumptive patients, often giving them printed 
directions emphasizing in detail the dangers of the disease, its 
chances of cure, and its treatment. These printed slips do not 
mention, and the doctor has neither the time nor the requisite 
information to suggest, how a poor man living in a crowded dis- 
trict, and with a family to support, can carry out the necessary 
treatment. The social worker is sent to the home. Often it is 
possible to get the patient into a hospital or sanatorium. If not, 
the worker gets acquainted with the family, learns its ties with 
kindred, friends, church, employers, and the neighborhood, and 
tries to discover within the family or among these close interests 
possibilities of help and ways of getting extra food, money, care, 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 47 

and hygienic conditions. These forces, with further help when 
necessary from outside sources, such as a diet kitchen/or a special 
fund, she fits into a plan that makes the doctor's treatment avail- 
able, often in the poorest home. She keeps a careful watch over 
the patient to see that the prescribed treatment is thoroughly 
carried out, and she teaches the family the care of the patient and 
the protection of themselves. 

The root of much misery that comes to the Social Service De- 
partment is dense ignorance of the fundamental laws of hygiene. 
The following is not an extraordinary instance. A doctor in 
the children's clinic patiently instructed an anxious mother on 
the care of her only child, who was being fed on modified 
milk. The mother listened attentively, but she understood little 
English and less hygiene. The baby grew worse, and the social 
worker was sent to the home to find out why. The child lay in 
a dark, unventilated room, in the back of a basement. The 
mother had given him sausage, the prescription of an ignorant 
neighbor, and the baby died. To teach hygiene in the hospital 
and in the home so that patients shall be awakened to its signifi- 
cance and sacredness is a constant and increasingly interesting 
duty. 

Nervous disorders, worry, depression, obsession, phobias, due 
so often to "faulty habits of mind," are not uncommon in the 
dispensary, and often cause more serious misery and social mal- 
adjustment than organic disease. By long talks, visits, interest- 
ing occupation, these sufferers are taught to "side-track their 
thoughts" and to substitute wholesome habits of body and mind. 
Workers in charge of these patients are beginning to receive special 
training, particularly in psychological lines. 

Thus far hospital social work has dealt with the sex problem 
chiefly in the case of pregnant girls. The number reached is com- 
paratively small, but the work is imperative and vital, and calls for 
the highest qualities of heart and mind. The girl's confidence 
and trust must be won, so that she can be led to see that her only 
salvation lies in courageously grasping the very duties her mis- 
fortune has brought her, — her duty to her innocent child and her 
duty to be truthful to herself and to those who love her. Arrange- 
ments must be made for her care, and work found where she can 



48 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

keep her child. Until she has grown sane and strong enough to 
walk alone, she must be kept under watchful protection. 

The handicapped who must work are another large group of 
the sick poor. For those hampered by physical weakness or 
disease, victims of tuberculosis, heart disease, rheumatism, ner- 
vous weakness, and old age, the work chosen should be approved 
by a physician, and the patient kept under his constant super- 
vision through the offices of the social worker. A man with one 
arm does not need a doctor's approval or oversight of his work: 
a man with a weak heart does. The social worker helps him 
choose and get his job, and here she gets an opportunity to study 
industries open and suited to various classes of the handicapped. 

In municipal and State hospitals where there are alcoholic and 
prison wards, there is great opportunity for social work and inves- 
tigation in these two groups. Other opportunities for medical 
social research work are cropping up continually. 

Organized hospital social work is being tried in about 30 
hospitals at present. The number of workers in each hospital 
varies from 1 to 8. The idea is spreading and gathering 
momentum: many leading physicians and philanthropists are 
warmly in favor of it; a session is to be given to the subject at 
the National Conference of Charities and Correction in June, 
1910. 

In considering the number of openings for workers, it is merely 
suggestive to state that according to the last census there were 
1,649 hospitals and dispensaries in the country, and that from 
1890 to 1900 hospitals increased in number in a greater ratio 
than any other group of benevolent institutions. It seems 
probable, therefore, that openings in this work will steadily 
increase. 

Earnest purpose, a mind hospitable to "all sorts and conditions 
of men," eagerness for personal service and for justice, especially 
to the sick poor, the sympathy that builds up rather than breaks 
down, imagination, patience, tact, a sense of humor, — all these 
are valuable assets for this work, for personality is what counts 
most in any worker. A knowledge of the fundamental laws of 
health is essential, and familiarity with the principles and sources 
of relief and with public hygiene is important. An acquaintance 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 49 

with social problems and local government, economics, psychol- 
ogy both normal and abnormal, German and Italian' (which are 
the languages of the greater number of our present immigrants), 
and knowledge of methods of research, — all are valuable. Some 
post-graduate training, preferably at a school of philanthropy, 
is a good preparation for any part of the work; but such training 
is not yet essential, and may be gained by experience in the work. 
Since the work deals only with those who are sick in body or mind, 
the more nursing and medical experience that can be brought to 
it, in conjunction with broad education and social training, the 
richer will be the service, both to the patients and to the com- 
munity. 



THE SOCIAL VALUE OF RENT COLLECTING 
LILIAN MARCHANT SKINNER* 

Work of Octavia Hill. 

Rent collecting, or, to use a larger name, the management of 
houses, was first undertaken by Miss Octavia Hill in London. 
In 1864 and 1865, through Mr. John Ruskin, who believed in 
the soundness of her idea and invested the necessary money, 
she became the landlord of a court of small houses. 

Her plan was simple. She had learned from her work among 
the poor that with the increase of charities the poor were in- 
creasingly wanting in energy and in self-reliance; that in the life 
of cities the rich and poor seemed to be growing farther apart, 
in the places where they lived and in their way of living; and that 
natural human relations between them were increasingly difficult 
to maintain. Miss Hill believed that the management of houses 
would supply a natural connection, and make possible with a 
small group of families that friendly and intimate contact 
without which we can never know the poor really well nor learn 
their real needs. 

* Miss Skinner was a volunteer worker under Miss Hill during one winter in 
London, and for four years managed houses under the Octavia Hill Association of 
Philadelphia. 



50 VOCATIONS EOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

The care of houses where the people are your tenants has in it 
certain advantages which other work among the poor gains less 
easily. 

First. The sense of duty is founded on relationship. The 
family are tenants: that fact implies your relation to them. The 
duty performed is not a self -chosen one: the tie is deeper, more 
like the duty to one's own home, to one's country. 

Second. The work is permanent. 

Third. It is definite, and continually demands not only sym- 
pathy, but action. The proper care of houses requires constant 
attention to small, very small details. A broken lock, an over- 
flowing ash-barrel, a quarrelsome neighbor, a brutal husband, — all 
demand some action. 

Fourth. The duties are mutual: the tenants have duties to 
you which must be fulfilled. The rent must be paid regularly, 
and the houses must be kept clean. There can be none of the 
glamour of almsgiving nor any sense of patronage. 

Miss Hill's experiment was successful. Her work has grown 
until she and her fellow-workers manage a very large number of 
cottages and tenements in different parts of London. The mag- 
nitude of some of her undertakings and the attitude of owners in 
putting houses under her care are illustrated in the case of an area 
in Walworth, a part of the London estates of the Ecclesiasti- 
cal Commissioners, where recently a ninety -nine year lease fell 
in. The area comprised twenty-two acres entirely covered by 
small houses which had to be rebuilt in order properly to house 
nearly eight hundred families of tenants. The report of the 
Commissioners, 1906, reads : — 

The Commissioners have recognized that the possession of large areas of 
land, situated in districts convenient for the houses of the poorer classes, 
has imposed upon them the moral obligation to see that the claims of 
the working class to be provided with healthy homes, in places convenient 
for their occupations and at reasonable rents, should not be neglected. 
There is, however, the great difficulty that upon the grant of the leases 
the future management of the houses necessarily passes into the hands of 
the lessees, and the Commissioners cannot effectively guard against the 
evils of sub-letting and overcrowding, nor are the many details on which 
the well-being of the tenant depends subject to their control. 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 51 

Therefore, an arrangement has been made by which the actual super- 
vision and the collection of the rents has been delegated by the Commis- 
sioners to Miss Octavia Hill and other ladies trained by her to deal with 
this particular class of property. To Miss Hill's part falls, beside the 
collection of the rents, the selection of tenants, the ordering of necessary 
tenant's repairs, the general watchfulness over the maintenance of good 
order, and against abuse of privileges among the tenants. 

Direction of Such Efforts in the United States. 

In the United States work on similar lines has been carried on, 
though there has not been that recognition of its importance 
which within the last thirty years has led to its being under- 
taken in nearly all of the principal cities of Great Britain and in 
several on the Continent. 

There are three ways of improving housing conditions in cities : 

1. By legislative or municipal restrictions. 

2. By the erection of new dwellings, either cottages or tene- 
ments. 

3. By the improvement of existing houses. 

Miss Hill's effort has been toward the improvement of exist- 
ing houses and of the tenants in them. The worst and most 
dilapidated houses shelter those who most need uplift. In this 
country the few early attempts by individuals were in general 
on the same lines; but the housing companies formed have in- 
augurated the building of model tenements. Among such com- 
panies the Octavia Hill Association of Philadelphia stands alone 
in its continued attempts to get possession of and to improve 
existing houses. Usually these undertakings combine two distinct 
purposes: the purpose to relieve overcrowding, to gradually 
redeem the slum; and second, the purpose to carry on a vital 
form of social work. 

The beginning of such work in this country was made in Boston, 
in 1871, by a lady who herself collected rents for ten years. 
The Boston Co-operative Building Company was formed with 
the purpose to provide good homes at a moderate cost for work- 
ing people. At present the company employs one woman agent 
with three assistants, all trained under the company. See Re- 
ports of the company, covering thirty-nine years of work. 



52 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

In 1876 similar work was begun in Brooklyn by Mr. Alfred T. 
White. Mr. White says: — 

We did not at first employ women rent collectors. Thirty years ago 
it was difficult to find women suited to such positions who cared to act 
as agents in tenement houses. For many years now we have been em- 
ploying women as agents in both blocks of buildings. Their services 
have averaged more satisfactory than those of men in our work. Com- 
mon sense, the ability to keep simple accounts, unfailing good nature, 
and interest in such a line of work are essential qualifications. 

At present the Improved Dwellings Company, organized by 
Mr. White, employs two women agents who got their training 
simply by doing the work. See pamphlet, "Better Homes for 
Workingmen," by Alfred T. White. 

In 1896 the Octavia Hill Association was organized in Phila- 
delphia, the work being begun under the direct inspiration of 
Miss Hill's ideas by ladies who had themselves already bought 
and managed certain tenements in the city. This company is 
the only one to carry out Miss Hill's idea of volunteer collectors, 
ladies who do the work as social service without pay, each to 
undertake a small group of families in the hope of establishing 
continuous and helpful intercourse. Philadelphia is especially 
adapted to the association's policy of improving existing houses, 
as overcrowding is not excessive, large tenements have not been 
erected in very great numbers, and in the older parts of the city 
many old and well-built houses remain. Since 1906 the work of 
the association, which includes attempts to further legislative 
action, has been in charge of a man, but women rent collectors are 
employed. See Annual Reports of the Octavia Hill Association. 

In the same year that the Octavia Hill Association was organized 
in Philadelphia, a company in New York began to work on the 
most extensive scale yet attempted in this country. The City 
and Suburban Homes Company of New York began to build 
and manage model tenements with a capital of $1,000,000, since 
increased to $4,000,000. The object of the company is to offer 
to the savings of the people a safe and permanent investment and 
to furnish wage-earners wholesome homes at current rates. Four- 
teen women are employed as rent collectors and managers in its 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 53 

various buildings. The woman longest in the company's employ 
was trained in London in Miss Hill's methods: the others were 
trained by the company. See Reports of the City and Suburban 
Homes Company. 

There are three smaller undertakings in New York employing 
women rent collectors, two of them being a group of tenements 
owned by ladies. 

Number of Openings. 

A count of these opportunities in New York, Brooklyn, Boston, 
and Philadelphia, shows that the number of openings to women in 
such work is small. There seems, however, no reason why such 
work should not be extended. Real estate firms with tenement 
property might profitably employ women rent collectors, while 
there is at least one church corporation which might well do as the 
Ecclesiastical Commissioners (Church of England) have done. 
The universal testimony from those who have employed women 
collectors is to their efficiency and native adaptation to this work 
of careful, patient service. 

Throughout the eastern part of the United States, north and 
south, there are some thirty or more instances of factories which 
have undertaken improved housing for their employees, but 
there is no instance among them of a woman collector. The 
tenant comes to the office of the company with his rent or the 
company deducts rents from the weekly pay-roll. Both of these 
methods do away with the weekly visit, the stronghold of the 
careful manager of houses. The manager of one manufacturing 
company writes: — 

Some years ago, when we were considering the erection of some addi- 
tional tenement houses, I visited some three-story flat apartments in 
Boston, the rents of which were collected by a woman (whom I had the 
pleasure of meeting) , whose apparent aptitude for this work and whose 
efficiency in securing results led me to the belief that in many instances 
women could be very successfully employed in this vocation. 

Two New England manufacturers write as follows : — 

We do not use women rent collectors, and with tenement property 
such as our own, do not believe that it would be feasible to do so. 



54 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

We have never employed a woman in this capacity, as we have always 
considered it a man's work. Our tenants are in the main a rather low 
class of people, and we would not consider this position in particular as 
being one fitted for a woman. 

It is just such difficult property and just such a "low class of 
people" which have been benefited in England and to a certain 
extent in this country by the patient and continuous work of 
ladies who bring to their task not only firmness and resolution, 
but gentleness of manner and of spirit. Speaking of Miss Hill's 
work in London, Marshall, of Cambridge, the great economist, 
said, "It is work which no man could have done." 

Training and Qualifications. 

Training for this work cannot be got except by doing the work 
itself, though almost any form of social work gives some power 
in dealing with people, which affords the necessary foothold in 
the management of houses. The chief qualifications are thor- 
oughness, care and efficiency in accounts, and absolute truthfulness 
and courtesy in dealing with the tenants. 

Salaries. 

In some instances, especially when the work was in its beginning, 
salaries were paid by giving 5 per cent, on all collections. This 
seemed to limit the work of the agent, as the efficient manage- 
ment of houses implies very much more than actual collections 
of rent, and it was not possible on this basis to secure the services 
of well-equipped women. The salaries more usually paid seem 
to correspond to those in other forms of social work, $600 to $800 a 
year. In the cases where the service rendered is regarded as 
clerical work, the salary is less. There are a few instances where 
the work done is so responsible in its nature that a higher salary 
is paid. 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 55 



RENT COLLECTING AS WORK FOR WOMEN 

BLANCHE GEARY 

Rent Collector for the City and Suburban Homes Company, New York 

Rent collecting by women should be restricted to those who 
are in robust health. The work is wearing physically and men- 
tally to the strongest, and is assuredly not for the person who 
breakfasts on a roll and lunches on an eclair. 

An experienced collector is able to take entire charge of prop- 
erty, renting it, repairing it, and keeping its accounts. She must 
know enough of each house-trade to be able to control her em- 
ployees (carpenters, plumbers, steam-fitters, engineers, painters, 
etc.) and to keep down expenses with a firm hand. The col- 
lector must know each tenant, his or her work, family, and sur- 
roundings; she must have a general knowledge of wages and sal- 
aries and of local conditions of work; she should be familiar with 
the working lines of the different charitable and church agencies, 
the City Departments and officials. A knowledge of babies* 
ailments and first aid is desirable. The collector should have a 
special gift for reading character, infinite patience and tact, and 
should know something of the joy of understanding and of for- 
giving. 

There are many openings for women rent collectors. Several 
are in business for themselves, managing high-class apartment 
houses in New York City. The owners of model tenements 
employ women collectors and women superintendents at from 
$12 to several times that amount per week. 

The training depends entirely on the experience and character 
of the recruit. Two years of assiduous, heart-whole work should 
train a promising recruit for responsibility at perhaps $20 a week. 

Rent collecting for women is hard work, but it is immensely 
interesting and well worth while. 



56 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



THE ADVANTAGES OF SETTLEMENT WORK FOR 

WOMEN 

ROBERT A. WOODS 

Head-worker, South End House, Boston 

One of the chief difficulties which confront the woman as she 
leaves her home to enter an occupation is that she finds herself 
unable to take advantage of the domestic and neighborly in- 
stincts and training which have so largely been the atmosphere, 
if not the solid fabric, of her life. Settlement work places women 
in a field where their pre-eminent capital has scarcity value, and 
where, beginning from simple and familiar points of view, they 
may by the exercise of their characteristic and available powers 
grow toward a position of profound and far-reaching influence in 
the community. 

The reinforcement of the life of the home, the reconstruction 
of the neighborhood, the placing people, particularly the young, 
in their normal moral setting in the scheme of social intercourse 
to which they belong, — this is the particular part of the building 
up of the State which is woman's peculiar privilege. As applied 
to a crowded neighborhood of working people, such service in- 
cludes a number of specialties, for some of which technical train- 
ing is desirable, — nursing, kindergarten teaching, cookery, dress- 
making, physical culture, medicine, management of tenement 
houses and other business enterprises; but in all of these, no less 
than in more informal club work and neighborhood visiting, the 
capacity for easy and effective human association is the para- 
mount thing. 

Settlement work is a broader and higher development of the 
work of charity, which has always been understood to be in a 
special sense a field for women's effort. Settlement work means 
the application just above the poverty line — with proper modi- 
fications — of those approved principles which scientific charity 
has developed in its experience below the poverty line. It rep- 
resents a deeper probing of the educational motive upon which 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 57 

women by nature have the strongest hold. It has, in fact, done 
much toward initiating the new and inspiring tendencies toward 
popular hygienic education, toward vocational training, and 
toward that culture in the art of democratic association which, 
for the new century, weaves the indispensable network of social 
and public morality. 

Settlement work gives women an indisputable foothold, based 
on expert knowledge and trained capacity, in some of the most 
vital phases of municipal reform and progress. The woman who 
has the woman's sense of the daily ascertained facts as to the needs 
of the people up and down one street after another, who has 
the same penetrating, continuous acquaintance with the service 
rendered by the municipal departments up and down those same 
streets, holds in her possession some of the most valuable and 
cogent data for the making over of municipal administration. 
The woman who goes from her own home in this normal, saga- 
cious, strategic way is particularly well placed to judge aright the 
condition and prospects of the myriads of women, mostly girls 
in fact, who are plunged into the wholly new and confusing 
counter-currents of factory industry and wage competition. 

Settlement work is carried on to some extent by volunteers, 
but every settlement as it grows must have a paid staff. Sti- 
pends are, as a rule, modest, particularly at first; but as the im- 
portance and value of one's service are fully demonstrated, and 
particularly as one develops originality and initiative, the recom- 
pense is on a basis sufficient to make one properly free of personal 
financial handicaps. 



58 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SOCIAL SETTLEMENT 

MARY KINGSBURY SIMKHOVITCH 

Head-worker, Greenwich House, New York 

In this brief statement I shall try to point out (1) the oppor- 
tunities which the settlement presents to women who desire to 
enter social work and at the same time be self-supporting, and 
(2) the aspects of social "research'' which are especially available 
through the settlement. 

1. The opportunities for professional work in the settlement 
will vary according to the degree of social differentiation of the 
community in which the settlement is situated. In a community 
without public kindergartens, for example, the settlement will, 
doubtless, need a kindergarten worker. The settlement cannot 
be said to present this avenue of opportunity in other than an 
incidental way, however; as the community develops, the settle- 
ment will no longer support private kindergartens. Similarly, 
teachers of domestic science, doctors, nurses, while they may 
indeed form an important part of a settlement staff, are incidental 
to the settlement life, as their service may at any time become 
superfluous. 

How, then, is it possible or honest to recommend persons with 
professional training to engage in settlement work? On three 
grounds: (1) because in some communities it is fairly clear that 
such work will be needed for a long period of years; (2) because, 
even when the city or other associations take it over, the settle- 
ment may still be the best place from which to carry on the work, 
though the source of payment and the responsibility of the work 
have changed hands; (3) because the wide social outlook gained 
at the proper kind of settlement is very advantageous from a 
professional point of view. It is a form of training not possible 
at the professional schools, for it is the product of an atmos- 
phere, a milieu. The nurse's work at the hospital will be one 
kind of training: seeing her patients in relation to their home 
and communal environments will be quite another. Similarly, 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 59 

the student of domestic science will receive training in regard to 
dietaries at the professional school: at the settlement she will 
learn to correlate this knowledge with an understanding of the 
meaning of the standard of life taken as a whole. As the artists 
say, all the elements in the picture " compose " at the settle- 
ment. Each member of the settlement group contributes of 
his own knowledge to find it modified by the knowledge of 
another. 

Is there, then, any kind of "settlement work" which can be 
considered as a profession by itself, which can be differentiated 
from other forms of work, and for which there is any economic 
demand? 

Settlement positions thus differentiated reduce themselves to 
executive positions, and such positions as are implied in the 
proper carrying on of executive work. That is, the head-worker 
will need assistants. Secretaries and stenographers will be neces- 
sary. The kind of training, therefore, that is desirable for one 
who is fitted by nature for this task is training in administration. 
"Fitted by nature" implies: first, a fund of vital energy; second, 
a social disposition; and third, a genuine liking of and admiration 
for simple people. As for training in settlement executive work, 
it is certainly desirable that beginners expecting to be valuable 
assistants should equip themselves with a command of the type- 
writer, short-hand also, if possible, a knowledge of simple book- 
keeping, and an understanding of modern office methods. If 
this is supplemented by a practical knowledge of housekeeping, 
so much the better. As intellectual background for this training, 
one should have, if possible, some knowledge of economic theory 
and especially training in economic history, — in fact, in history and 
literature; for the firm grasp of the truth that theories, forms, 
and values change, and that the possibility of change is open to 
the present, is the essential intellectual equipment of the social 
leader. The head of the settlement will be just so much more 
efficient if she has some knowledge of the special office training 
indicated for an assistant, but if she cannot be thus specialized, 
she should, in any case, know how to bring the administration 
work of the settlement up to the proper degree of efficiency. She 
should herself have a rich background of information, and should 



60 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

be equipped with a habit of dispensing with what she has learned 
as fast as she finds it false or unusable. The schools of philan- 
thropy are useful in giving much valuable information and in 
securing positions for graduates. But an understanding of those 
great values and forces which are developing from below is 
learned not from such sources, but, if at all, apart from experi- 
ence, rather from the bibles, poets, novelists, and artists of the 
world. 

Openings for competent head- workers are numerous. The 
salaries paid to women are small. In fact, many of these positions 
are held by unsalaried women who are averse to receiving payment 
for this sort of service or by women who refuse to take the proper 
amount through a similar disinclination. We believe that this is 
a wrong point of view, as it tends to keep down proper payment in 
the case of those women who are equally generous in spirit, but 
who cannot afford to work for little or nothing, or who do not think 
it right or self -respectful to do so. The proper course for women 
who receive a small or no salary would seem to be to accept the 
salary their work merits, and then, in case they care to return it 
to their work, to do so. A personal sentiment ought not to be 
allowed to depress values for others. Women cannot expect at 
present to receive more than $1,800 as head-workers of settle- 
ments, or assistants more than $1,000 or $1,200. The average is 
much lower. Others engaged in professional work spoken of 
above may expect a salary' somewhat below that which their 
special training would bring in other positions. We think the 
settlements should unite in properly standardizing salaries, and 
we believe that this will be done in justice to the work and to 
coming workers.* 

* Standards do not seem to be fixed in each settlement for the various posi- 
tions, either for initial payment or for rates of increase according to time of service, 
except perhaps for the head- worker; nor is there any standard of payment among 
the settlements. It is probable that this irregularity of scheme exists to a more 
marked degree in other cities than in New York. 

Returns from 13 New York settlements show the following results: — 

Number of workers employed, 109. Head-workers, 13; assistants, 19; sec- 
retaries, 4; stenographers, 3; paid club leaders, 34; paid industrial teachers, 21. 

Compensation of workers: Head-workers: initial yearly salary to 1 worker, $500; 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 61 

Another variety of settlement worker permanently needed is 
the group leader — the club director. Group leadership is of the 
greatest possible value. The reason that the social club is so 
often feeble is because it has not had the proper leader to develop 
its own forms of self -direction. Such a leader may spring up from 
within the club, but if this is not the case, the club leader from 
the outside must have within himself or herself the capacity for 
true leadership. Such leaders we may expect to find in recreation 
centres of the public schools, in the field houses of the parks, but 
also at the settlements, one of the chief functions of which con- 
tinues to be developing groups of boys and girls till they shall 
themselves become leaders. 

There are openings in this field for the well-equipped woman 
who has a social gift and a vigorous outgoing personality. To 
become such a social club leader needs for training a good educa- 
tion, vitality, love of people, and belief in them. Such work 
demands fineness of understanding and initiative. It requires, 
also, a liking for the things that appeal to the young — motion, 
color, dancing, drama, and all kinds of festivities — as well as the 
more serious strain, common to all, of interest in the old home 
and in the home to be, in the wider groups of union, city, nation, 
and race. For this kind of social leadership there is a real demand. 
Salaries paid range from $600 to $900. 

2. What opportunities does the settlement present as a station 
for social "research"? 

The sort of research that is suitable, feasible, and valuable for 
a settlement to carry on is that which is a by-product of record. 
That is, if the settlement be properly equipped with records by 
which a knowledge of the neighborhood and of neighborhood 
families be kept increasing from year to year, the material for 

to 2 workers, $600; to 1 worker, $1,000; to 4 workers, $1,200: usual maximum 
yearly salary to 2 workers, $1,200; to 3 workers, $1,600 to $1,800. Assistants 
initial yearly salary to 4 workers, $500; to 3 workers, $600; to 4 workers, $720 
to 3 workers, $900: usual maximum salary to 2 workers, $500; to 3 workers, $720 
to 5 workers, $900; to 4 workers, $1,000 to $1,200. Secretaries receive $600 to 
$700 initial salary, and $720 to $900 usual maximum salary. Club leaders re- 
ceive $60 to $75 per month, or $2 to $2.50 per hour or evening. Industrial 
teachers receive $600 to $900 per year, or $2 to $2.50 per hour or lesson. — Ed. 



62 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

"research" would be at hand without relying upon the sporadic 
"investigator." The social investigator has become so frequent 
as to be a real pest. If all the requests of all the investigators — 
even the really good ones — were to be answered by the settle- 
ments, the settlements would have to stop all their own work 
to make reply. And yet, that the settlements have accumulated 
a vast amount of socially useful material which is not available 
and which should be available cannot be doubted. The trouble 
lies in the way in which this material gets accumulated and 
registered, first, in the brains and hearts of the workers, and 
second, in a most imperfect record. In the former way it may 
find expression in some large, effective, and artistic form, as in the 
case of Miss Addams's books, or it may be lost entirely from lack 
of expression. In the second way it is at best only partially use- 
ful, often not at all. 

The highest type of "research" is the transmuted artistic ex- 
pression of research we find in the occasional literary productions 
of settlement residents; the next best thing is the continuous 
record, not yet existent to any extent, but likely to be kept in 
the future; and the third and least desirable form is the occasional 
investigation. For this last form there will be some demand, 
from time to time, as needs indicate. Those who are equipped 
for social research in any field will be competent to conduct some 
occasional settlement investigations, but will work to greater 
advantage if they have been in residence in the given community 
for some time previous to the investigation. It is necessary to 
learn the relative importance of facts to be ascertained and how 
to recognize their validity when registered. Training in this 
field is at present fragmentary, but it is to be had in some settle- 
ments, and at some colleges and schools of philanthropy. 

To sum up, the college girl who desires to enter a settlement, 
there to undertake her life's work, would better get such training 
as will lead to taking an executive position of responsibility. If 
she desires to engage in any special branch of work now under- 
taken by settlements, such as nursing, cooking, etc., she should 
get the best possible professional training, which will always stand 
her in good stead even though the settlement should give up 
that kind of work. If she desires to do research work, the settle- 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 63 

ment offers but a limited opportunity, as its own research work of 
greatest value consists of bringing together its registered or un- 
registered experience. To become an assistant, either in a per- 
manent position or with the hope of rising to be in charge of a 
settlement, special training in office work and administration is 
desirable. 



WELFARE WORK AND THE WELFARE WORKER FROM 
THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE BUSINESS HOUSE 

Welfare work, as it is carried on in business houses, manu- 
facturing establishments, etc., is in the main an effort to secure 
improved conditions of labor. It is an effort also in part to raise 
the employee to a higher point of efficiency, both for his own good 
and for that of the employer. It is a recognition by the em- 
ployer that what benefits the employee benefits him, and it is 
expected to promote, on the other hand, a recognition by the 
employee that the best interest of the employer is the best in- 
terest of the employee, and that what hurts the employer directly 
or indirectly hurts the employee. 

Welfare work is either philanthropic or co-operative. It is 
sometimes a purely philanthropic scheme of the employer, who 
appropriates his money to it precisely as he does to the Asso- 
ciated Charity. The more progressive business man, on the other 
hand, reckons it purely as a good business proposition for secur- 
ing the best service from his employees, and realizes that this 
business value is in danger of being lost the minute he allows his 
welfare work to become either charity or advertising. This 
difference in welfare work is shown, however, not so much in 
different lines of activity as in the different ways in which prac- 
tically the same things are done. One employer does the welfare 
work for his people, while the other helps, organizes, and inspires 
them to do for themselves co-operatively such things as appeal 
to their tastes and needs. The main effort of this kind is to help 
the individual help himself. 



64 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

Welfare work has come to include whatever can be done to 
benefit : — 

Physical Condition of the Employee. 

Sickness in the establishment itself must be taken care of, and 
in many places a trained nurse is in constant attendance in a 
sick-room to treat and advise. Often a minor ill is cured, and 
the patient rendered fit to perform a regular day's work. In 
old days this frequently meant a day at home, with consequent 
loss of money to the employee and of service to the employer. 
A patient in a really serious condition is directed to a reputable 
physician. Arrangements may also be made to secure the ser- 
vices of physicians free of charge to the employees. Outside of 
the establishment sick employees need attention to see that they 
are not lying neglected in lodging houses or for some other cause 
suffering from lack of proper care 

In addition to the sick-room, rest and recreation rooms are 
frequently provided for the noon hours, where the employees 
may enjoy reading, dancing, and games. 

Gymnasium classes, dancing classes, baths, are included in this 
division. 

Hygienic working conditions in the building itself need watch- 
ful care, — sanitary toilets, good ventilation, light, etc. 

Home conditions and personal mode of living may be in- 
fluenced by friendly advice or example. In communities where 
employees live together, prizes may be offered for the best garden, 
neatest yard, etc., or perhaps there is a neighborhood visitor. 
If the houses are owned by the corporation, sanitary conditions 
can be more carefully taken care of. 

Economic Conditions. 

Mutual benefit organizations to protect the employee from 
total loss of income during sickness are the most common of the 
efforts made in this group. Savings departments encourage self- 
protection and frugality. Loan departments save the employee 
from the clutches of money sharks and do away with the habit of 
borrowing among fellow-employees. They may give assistance 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 65 

and advice to employees in choosing investments for, their money. 
They may be helpful in finding rooms, houses, or in finding ten- 
ants for rooms. Systems can be worked out for co-operative buy- 
ing. Anything which gives the individual the most for his money 
or helps him to take care of his money is legitimate welfare work. 
Lunch-rooms whose aim is to give the best food for the least 
money belong in this division. 

Education. 

This includes technical instruction in the special work of the 
employee, and general education through public evening schools 
or by classes carried on at the direction of the employer. In 
many instances, educational and social work are combined in 
such forms as lectures, reading clubs, debating societies, current 
events circles, libraries, and the like. 

Social Life. 

Dances, entertainments, lectures, glee clubs, dramatic clubs, 
and all other schemes that may be devised to bring the employees 
together in a friendly social way, making them know one another 
better, are made use of as means of securing a pleasanter atmos- 
phere in working together. 

Mental Conditions. 

Secure justice for employees; give them a voice in their gov- 
ernment; let them arbitrate their grievances; have an arbitra- 
tion board and back up its decisions. This is the way of 
the most progressive houses. In most cases the welfare worker 
stands as an intermediary or arbitrator between the manage- 
ment and the employees. In many instances all that is neces- 
sary is to act as a safety-valve for pent up feelings of imaginary 
injustice. This work is not less valuable than when the injustice 
is real. 

Little acts of friendliness, letters, visits or flowers in cases of 
illness or trouble, and such other proofs of interest as opportunity 
may offer, are very real helps toward keeping an atmosphere of 
content. 



66 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

All these things come under the care and attention of a wel- 
fare worker. She may be obliged to furnish ideas and enthusiasm, 
and then do all the work; she may be able to delegate all or parts 
of the practical duties — and this is a better way. In either case 
she must furnish the impetus, must see that everything runs 
smoothly, and that it keeps going; she must be ready at any mo- 
ment to step in where there is a lack or weakness in the organiza- 
tion of any part of the work. 

While this formal or mechanical kind of work may be consigned 
to some one else, the personal, friendly touch can never be dele- 
gated. The welfare worker must know as a friend every one 
with whom she is working. She should be able to call them by 
name, and should keep in touch with their outside life, their 
pleasures or difficulties. She must win their confidence, never 
force it, never betray it. She must never show favoritism 
in her friendships, much less in her efforts to help. She 
must not be too much or too little influenced by stories of 
trouble that come to her ear, but must measure up the case by 
some standard, discounting or enlarging until she can get the 
actual facts. She must not set the standard of assistance too 
high, else she will not be able to live up to it in some cases of 
great trouble. 

As an arbitrator she must not only be able to see the employee's 
side, but must be well informed as to the existing conditions,, 
irrespective of either side, and she must be in touch with the em- 
ployer's point of view. She must herself keep in mind the prin- 
ciple which she is trying to impress on others, that the interests of 
employer and employee are identical. She is not an attorney 
for the employee, regardless of the truth of the matter. She is 
expected to see that justice is done the employee, and she may 
plead for leniency when she believes leniency is wise. In case of 
doubt, she should do her best to strengthen the side of the em- 
ployee, for it is naturally supposed that the employer has the 
stronger side. 

The qualities usually sought in a welfare worker are a large 
sympathy, a keen insight into human nature, tactfulness, adapta- 
bility, excellent health, initiative, sound judgment, absolute re- 
sponsibility. 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 67 

Training for this kind of work can best be secured 'by working 
and observing as an apprentice with a successful welfare manager. 
In most cases this apprenticeship has been not longer than three 
months and under only one master. Because of the newness of 
the work, and the variation of method, it would be far better for 
the training to extend over six months and be taken under two 
or more practical workers. 

There is a natural tendency to prefer college women for this 
work. It requires at least a general education in evolutionary 
science, history and civics, sociology, ethics, literature. Special 
preparation may be desirable in physical culture, hygiene, li- 
brary system, principles of law, domestic science, business prin- 
ciples and system, etc., the value of any line of special training 
depending upon the class of employees and the line of work to be 
emphasized. Some meagre attention to the theory and history 
of welfare work is given by such schools as train more particularly 
for charity and philanthropic work. 

The wages of welfare workers range from $1,000 to $3,000 a 
year, the less figure being by far the most common. 

An idea of the number of openings may be gained from the 
following list of some of the kinds of businesses which have a 
welfare manager: carriage springs company, celluloid workers, 
confectioners, cordage company, cotton mills, cravat manufact- 
urer, department store, drill, sheetings manufacturers, dyers and 
bleachers, electrical companies, food companies, insurance com- 
panies, jewelry manufacturers, laundries, locomotive company, 
lumber company, machine makers, marble company, mathemat- 
ical instrument manufacturers, overall manufacturers, paint 
factory, paper box companies, pickle factories, potters, printing 
press, publishing company, shoe factories, soap makers, steam 
railroads, street railroads, wire rope manufacturers. 



68 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



THE YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION 

ELIZABETH WILSON 

Secretary of the National Board 

The Young Women's Christian Association is a world-wide 
organization, which has for its purpose the voluntary association 
of young women for their physical, social, intellectual, and spir- 
itual development. Such associations exist in cities, in student 
centres, in industrial and rural communities. The administration 
is in the hands of volunteer workers (active members, elected to 
serve on boards of directors, cabinets, and committees) and of 
salaried workers called secretaries or department directors. The 
secretaries are trained executive officers who investigate condi- 
tions, advise with volunteer workers, and execute the measures 
decided upon in board and committee meetings. At the present 
time American secretaries are serving in London, in Paris, in 
Australia, in Japan, China, India, and South America. 

There are 26 secretaries of the National Board, whose duties 
are the general administration for the National Board and its 
work of summer conferences, training for secretaries, develop- 
ment of plans for work in State universities and professional 
schools, Bible teaching in college associations, work in factories, 
mill villages, rural districts, physical education, erection of build- 
ings, etc. There is also a national office staff, in which the ma- 
jority of the department office secretaries, as well as of the regular 
secretaries of the National Board, hold college degrees. For the 
State and Territorial committees, with headquarters in New York, 
Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, etc., 35 secretaries are engaged 
in visitation of local associations to which they hold advisory 
relations. Thirty-eight universities and colleges employ a general 
secretary, and one university (Illinois) employs also a Bible study 
director. In the 192 city associations of the country, women are 
engaged in various executive, religious, industrial, educational, and 
domestic capacities. A few women are engaged in the mill villages 
now carrying on Young Women's Christian Association work, and 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 69 

one county (Woodford County, Illinois) is sufficiently organized 
to employ a secretary for its small towns and country districts. 

There are probably about 800 or 900 positions for which col- 
lege women, with distinct professional training also, are eligible. 
Many of these positions are now filled by women lacking the de- 
sired educational foundation. Others are vacant because women 
of the right calibre and training or experience are not available. 
Each year fully 15 per cent, of these positions must be filled by 
incoming workers. 

The varied duties of all these positions demand that the salaried 
officers, before they think of preparing for professional work, have 
well-proved executive ability in those affairs in which they have 
been naturally interested; good physical health and nervous 
poise; a mind not only well informed, but vigorous in grasping 
new situations; a genuine social sense and a wholesome sympathy 
and interest in young women and girls; an attractive, natural 
Christian life, and willingness to co-operate with religious and 
social forward movements. 

As a preparation for entering this work for the first time, a 
college education is thought desirable. In the last few years, too, 
the question of professional training has secured a great deal of 
attention, since the largest success of the whole movement was 
felt to depend upon properly prepared executive officers. The 
Young Men's Christian Association has for some time maintained 
two training schools, one in Springfield, Mass., the other in Chi- 
cago, 111. When the Young Women's Christian Associations of 
the United States of America were formed in 1906, the National 
Board took over the Secretaries' Training Institute originally 
opened by the American Committee in Chicago, and then in 1908 
discontinued this, and opened a National Training School at 3 
Gramercy Park, New York City, with a system of preparatory 
training centres throughout the country. 

The National Training School is designed for trained workers 
or women of experience in other movements, desirous of entering 
the Young Women's Christian Association. A two years' course 
is offered for religious work directors, a one year's course for city 
general secretaries, student general secretaries, industrial, state 
and territorial, and foreign secretaries. 



70 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

The young woman just graduating from college, if sufficiently 
mature, is advised to enter the training centre conducted by the 
State or Territorial Committee in her own locality. This is a 
three months' term of practical work in a large association, where 
a slight course of study is pursued, which fits the student to take 
a minor position, with salary, or to enter the National Training 
School to prepare for a position of large responsibility. The 
actual expense involved during the three months' training-centre 
course is about one hundred dollars. The expense of a year at 
the National Training School is $350, which includes tuition, 
board, and lodging. 

The general association has as yet made no provision for ele- 
mentary training for physical directors and teachers of domestic 
science and domestic art, but the Secretarial Department comes 
into communication with the best normal schools of these sub- 
jects, and refers workers to vacancies throughout the country. 

It is hoped that no young woman may take a position immedi- 
ately after her preparatory training at a smaller salary than 
$600 per year, or after the National Training School course for 
less than from $900 to $1,200. The range of salaries extends at 
present as high as $2,300 for general supervisory work and $1,800 
for local. Many associations have instituted a regular scale of 
annual increase, and when a secretary enters a new position, it is 
customary for her to receive a larger salary than in the previous 
one. There must also be taken into account the number and 
character of extra advantages or perquisites possible in connection 
with the conferences and conventions to which the secretary is 
usually sent with expenses paid. 

Printed matter — The Catalogue of the National Training 
School, The Training Centre, The Executive of the Association, 
etc. — will be sent upon application to the Secretarial Department, 
125 East 27th Street, New York City. 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 71 



NURSING 
LILLIAN D. WALD 

Head-worker, Henrt Street Settlement (Nurses' Settlement), New York 

The work of Florence Nightingale some fifty years ago brought 
to the rank of a profession an occupation which through the ages 
has proved to be one peculiarly adapted to women. Times have 
changed since the pioneer days of Miss Nightingale, and many 
vocational opportunities have been granted to women that in 
her day were deemed unsuitable, for economic and social changes 
have played their part in freeing women from artificial limitations. 
To-day nursing in itself is, as it has always been, a profession 
that calls into play the high qualities inherent in many women, 
but far greater scope is given for diversified application of these 
qualities. 

Hospital Superintendents. 

In America especially, since the social welfare movements have 
become prominent, the demand for women of general education 
and special hospital training has thus far exceeded the numbers 
equipped for such positions. Attractive and responsible ad- 
ministrative, educational, and executive positions are offered, and 
as yet with no adequate source of supply. Increasing numbers of 
women are being selected as superintendents of hospitals. Within 
the last fifteen years the numbers of such positions offered to 
nurses has increased 100 per cent., and the salaries com- 
pare very favorably with those of other educational and execu- 
tive posts. They range from $1,000 with board, laundry, etc., to 
$2,500, and although the small hospitals pay less, their directors 
express a readiness to pay the higher salary to competent women. 
Qualifications for such positions are knowledge of intelligent pur- 
chasing of supplies of all kinds, practical knowledge of the appli- 
cation of the science of food to human needs, administrative 
ability, which includes tact, culture, and good judgment, and 
teaching faculty, in addition to the nurse's training. 



72 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

Training School Superintendents. 

Superintendency of training schools calls for knowledge of 
pedagogy, and the opportunities for good class work are not sur- 
passed by those of any educational position. In this instance 
the power to teach organization and to transmit knowledge that 
can be related to practical work is essential. These positions are 
capable of being made influential and distinguished in proportion 
to the capacity of the one in charge to command respect and 
deference for herself and her position. Fortunately, instruction 
in the training schools is not yet conventionalized, and there are 
opportunities for original methods and creative work. 

Head-nurse. Teacher-nurse. Dietitian. 

In addition to superintendents' positions numerous openings 
are offered in institutions to teacher-nurses. Changes brought 
about in the administration of hospitals have necessitated this, 
and the development of preparatory courses for nurse-pupils pre- 
sents a new field for the graduate nurse who has special aptitude 
for teaching. Institutions of many kinds call for the skilled 
dietitian. Many demand that she shall also be a nurse. Special 
hospital colonies, camp sanatoria for the tuberculous, schools for 
children predisposed to this disease, orphanages, institutions for 
the feeble-minded and the epileptic, for the blind, the crippled, 
and the sub-normal, are asking for instructors and supervisors 
who are also nurses. 

Preventive Social Welfare Work. 

Perhaps the work that is most attractive to the educated woman 
who is also a trained nurse is that presented in the broad field of 
preventive social work, and in this there seems to be no limit to 
her opportunities. District nursing includes many, if not all, of 
these. The nurse engaged in this work has always had great 
social opportunities, and she has expressed herself more or less in 
the moral movements of her time. Living in the settlement, 
working jointly with the other forces for social progress, has 
widened out her horizon and attracted attention to the district 
nurse's potentialities. Medical inspection in the public schools 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICE 73 

has been expanded through the addition of the nurse. Practical 
teaching and nursing in the tuberculosis campaign has been, and 
is, to a large extent, in her hands. The direction and active par- 
ticipation in the movement for pure milk, factory inspection, 
tenement-house inspection, and probation work, are but a few 
of the preventive social measures that have increased the in- 
terest and exercised the faculties of the nurse. 

State and Municipal Service. 

The rapid increase in America in the past five years of the so- 
cially trained nurse is prophetic of the future. State and muni- 
cipality engage the nurse at present. They will need her in- 
creasingly. Her work has the appeal of humanitarianism, of 
being essentially prophylactic, educational, and socially con- 
structive. The training schools attached to the important hos- 
pitals are in the hands of able people, alive to the demands of the 
day. They welcome the students who come with adequate 
mental training, able to keep the profession in its high place and 
ready to push it on to meet new demands. 



II 

SCIENTIFIC WORK 



WOMEN TRAINED IN CHEMISTRY 

JAMES F. NORRIS 

Professor of Chemistry, Simmons College 

The number of women engaged in the practice of chemistry is 
relatively small on account of the fact that but few have pre- 
pared themselves for work in this field. Women have proved 
their worth as chemists. It is the belief of the writer that many 
places are open to those who are well trained in the science. 

In considering the advisability of selecting chemistry as a life- 
work, certain important facts must be borne in mind: — 

1. A woman must have excellent health and be able to with- 
stand fatigue in order to accomplish what is required of her. 
The work which she will be called upon to do consists largely of 
experimentation in the laboratory. This makes it necessary, in 
many cases, to stand for most of the working hours. 

2. Adequate preparation for the work is obtained only as the 
result of thorough and comprehensive training. In entering the 
field of chemistry, women are, in most instances, coming directly 
into competition with men, and if they are to make a place for 
themselves, they must be as well prepared. Adequate prepara- 
tion to gain a livelihood through the practice of chemistry requires 
at least four years' study. 

3. The pecuniary reward is not large, although successful work 
yields a good living. In many positions open to women the work 
is varied, and is of such a nature that it appeals strongly to one 
who is interested in science. 

4. In order to practise chemistry successfully, the woman 
should have a certain adaptability to the work: a special type of 

74 



SCIENTIFIC WORK 75 

mind is required. One who is to do successful work-in chemistry 
must have the power to reason logically and the ability to observe 
clearly. These important qualifications are developed during the 
study of the science, but this study should be undertaken only 
by those who have given some evidence that they possess the 
type of mind required. 

The most practical positions open to women well trained in 
chemistry are those in manufacturing establishments. The 
writer is acquainted with women who have filled with success the 
positions of chemist in a woollen mill, soap factory, electrical 
works, and a razor factory. Such positions require hard work^, 
and not many women enter this field. Within a year the head of\ 
the research department of a large manufacturing establishment , 
was seeking a woman to put in charge of the analytical laboratory 
connected with the department. The work had been under the 
direction of a woman, and the results were so satisfactory that 
the employer was anxious to fill the vacancy, caused by resigna- 
tion, by the appointment of another woman. 

Other opportunities are in the field of sanitary chemistry. 
Women are employed in the laboratories of the State Boards of 
Health. Positions in private laboratories of sanitary engineers 
are also available. The laboratory work in the chemical and 
biological examination of water by a well-known engineer is done 
by a woman. 

There is opportunity for women to secure remunerative posi- 
tions under the United States Government in the Department of 
Agriculture. These positions involve work of various types from 
that of assistant to that of research chemist. An important re- 
search laboratory of the Department, which deals with the sub- 
ject of food preservation, is under the direction of a woman. 

Women who develop a keen interest in chemistry during their 
study and show a special adaptability may find interesting 
work as research assistants. There are not many such positions 
available at present, but the number is increasing. Work of this 
kind is, perhaps, the most interesting that can be undertaken, 
as there is no set routine and the nature of the laboratory work 
changes from day to day. The interest is enhanced by the fact 
that the results obtained are additions to the science. 



76 VACATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

From the experience of the last few years it is evident that there 
is developing! a need for women to act as scientific secretaries. In 
some positions the work is largely secretarial, as in the case of a 
secretary to an author who is writing a book on a scientific sub- 
ject. In others the work is largely experimental. In order to 
fill such positions, a woman must have a knowledge of the duties 
of a secretary and some training in science as well. 

The compensation which is received for the high grade of work 
necessary in such positions is small, and not at all commensurate 
wi+Jn the training required to fit one for such work. The highest 
salaries are received by those who enter the more practical posi- 
tions, where the duties are the most arduous. Research assist- 
ants and scientific secretaries receive the smallest compensation. 
In such positions the work required is not so trying, and the sur- 
roundings are more congenial. The salary received the first year 
after the completion of one's training is usually $400 to $600. 
Last year a woman who had had two years' experience was 
appointed to the position of scientific secretary at a salary of 
$1,000, and a position was open at a salary of $1,200 to a woman 
who was trained as an analytical chemist. Only in exceptional 
cases and in positions under the Government will the compensa- 
tion exceed $1,000. 



WOMEN TRAINED IN BIOLOGY 

PERCY G. STILES 

Assistant Professor op Physiology, Simmons College 

While it is the object of the present article to suggest some posi- 
tions outside the teaching profession in which trained women 
may find congenial work, the writer cannot refrain from stating 
at the outset his conviction that teaching is by far the most 
remunerative occupation in which such women can engage. 
Many of the other pursuits which are to be mentioned may be 
followed simultaneously with teaching. 

Biological education may have a general character, and furnish 



SCIENTIFIC WORK 77 

the preparation needed for the teaching of nature study or high- 
school science. It may be preliminary to a course in medicine. 
But it will usually develop a specialty. We may therefore con- 
sider successively the chief branches of biology, and the nature 
of the openings to which they lead. 

Anatomy and Histology. The study of these sciences fits for 
comparatively few situations. If the graduate does not wish to 
teach, there remains the possibility of assisting professors of these 
subjects. The preparation of slides for microscopic work calls 
for considerable manual skill and theoretical knowledge. Such 
slides are required in large numbers for classes in medical schools, 
for pathologists working in connection with hospitals, and for 
investigators in agricultural colleges and experiment stations. 
Assistants in this line may add somewhat to their income by 
selling sets of histological and embryological preparations, as 
there is some demand for them from schools which are not 
equipped to make their own. 

Botany, Forestry, and Horticulture. Now and then a civil ser- 
vice position calling for an incumbent educated in these sciences 
becomes available. Agricultural experiment stations may employ 
a small number of such women. 

Bacteriology. A thorough training in this branch, including 
both its medical and non-medical aspects, should open the way to 
a variety of occupations. Indoor positions in laboratories of 
Boards of Health, both of States and of large cities, may be well 
filled by women, though but few are yet so filled. For these situ- 
ations, training in chemical analysis must accompany the mastery 
of bacteriological technique. The duties will comprise the testing 
of water and milk, diagnostic procedures, and perhaps the prepa- 
ration of anti-toxins, vaccines, etc. Separate laboratories under 
private management exist for the last-named purpose, and may 
give work to women .in the future. Bacteriologists are now em- 
ployed by milk contractors to see to it that the milk meets the 
legal requirements. Women can do this work when it does not 
demand too much travel and exposure in collecting samples. 
More agreeable positions may be found in connection with model 
dairies producing certified or other special milk. The number of 
these is rapidly increasing, and each must employ the services 



78 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

of an up-to-date bacteriologist. A single farm, however, is not 
likely to absorb more than a part of the specialist's time. A 
woman who has some capital and business faculty, besides scien- 
tific knowledge, may become the mistress of such a dairy. Re- 
search in bacteriology is enlisting a number of trained workers 
on the Rockefeller and other foundations. 

Physiology. Education in this science leads usually to teaching 
or to the position of research assistant with some professor of the 
subject. It is also an excellent approach to the wide field of 
physical training. Specialization in pharmacology may fit one 
for an occasional opening under the Government or with manu- 
facturing chemists where the testing and standardizing of drugs 
is carried on. 

Zoology. A command of this branch of biology may qualify 
the student for research and in exceptional cases for the service 
of the Government, conceivably in the investigation of insect 
pests or in the work of the Fish Commission. 

Composite Equipment. In a few instances, women have secured 
a good general training in biology and at the same time have 
qualified in stenography and typewriting. It is evident that this 
combination enables one to be exceptionally useful to a busy 
professor, especially if he is a writer of scientific books and pam- 
phlets. Such an assistant may be of still greater service if she has 
a reading knowledge of technical French and German, so that 
she can prepare abstracts of biological literature. Facility in 
drawing is another asset enabling one to prepare illustrations for 
articles or to make charts with an intelligence impossible to the 
ordinary draftsman. Skill in photography may be valuable in 
some situations. 

Salaries. The college graduate who has made as much as pos- 
sible of her biology should receive at once a minimum salary of 
$600. Advances upon this figure will usually be slow. Here, as 
elsewhere, the worker must find her highest reward in the intrinsic 
interest of her vocation. 



SCIENTIFIC WORK 79 



OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN IN THE MUSEUM 
OF NATURAL HISTORY 

The fact that there are opportunities for women in museum 
work i.s shown by the conditions in the Museum of Natural 
History, New York. 

1. Members of the Scientific Staff. There are no women cura- 
tors, but two women now serve on the regular scientific staff. 
They were appointed because they are very able specialists, 
probably as good as any in the country in a small branch of 
their subject. No doubt others will be appointed in other de- 
partments when women are found with such special power and 
knowledge. The museum has no rule in these matters, and does 
not draw the sex line. There is no uniform basis for salaries; 
men and women are paid according to their ability from SI, 500 
to 81,800. 

2. Research and Editorial Assistants. There are two assistants 
with special biological training in one department, a woman and 
a man. The work consists chiefly in aiding the curator in get- 
ting out publications, in studying specimens, reviewing litera- 
ture, making abstracts and translations, and superintending the 
illustration and publication of books and papers. The salary of 
these assistants is 81,500. 

3. Museum Instructor. There is one instructor at present, 
whose duty it is to conduct classes for children on the basis of the 
collections and to explain exhibits to visitors on request. The 
salary varies with the ability of the woman, but is about 
81,200. 

4. Secretaries. There are ten or fifteen secretaries in the mu- 
seum. The maximum salary is 81,200; that commonly paid, 
8800 or 81,000. 

5. Recording Secretaries. These women do only cataloguing 
and filing. The maximum salary is 81,000. 

6. Librarians and Library Assistants. These women need some 
library training. The salaries of the former are 81,000 to 81,200; 
of the latter, 8500 to 8800, approximately. 



80 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

7. Book-binders. These women do hand binding. Their salary 
is about $600 or $700. Photograph binders are paid about the 
same salary. 

8. Illustrators. Their work is chiefly in pen and ink, but in- 
cludes also some wash drawings of scientific specimens and also 
map drawings. They are paid 50 cents to 70 cents per hour 
according to their skill. 

Coloring slides and transparencies is paid at about the same 
rate. 

9. Makers of Artificial Flowers, etc., for exhibition groups. 
The maximum salary is $1,000. For this work it is necessary to 
serve an apprenticeship of several weeks or months in the museum 
without pay. No training other than this is required, though 
some acquaintance with plants is desirable. 

Theoretically, every position in this museum is open to 
women, and as the above report shows, women specially trained 
in science are now holding places of responsibility, while many 
more with less specialized training are filling minor positions. 



Ill 

DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE 



THE FIELD OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE 
HELEN KINNE 

PROFE88OK OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE, TEACHEB3 COLLEGE, NEW YoHK 

The rapid growth of the Home Economics movement in the last 
quarter century, meeting, as it does, a social and economic need, 
has opened to women a number of business occupations that are 
both remunerative and satisfying to the individual. This paper 
is confined to a discussion of those occupations for which Domes- 
tic Science gives training. 

The teaching field in Domestic Science is so far the most fully 
developed. It should be stated at once that it is unwise for any 
woman to devote herself at the beginning of her work to Domestic 
Science alone, since the present demand is in most cases for a 
woman who can teach the subjects included in this field and some 
of those connected with the textile arts. This work is now found 
in all grades of the lower schools, and also in colleges and univer- 
sities. There is now scarcely an institution of a philanthropic 
nature that does not include work along these lines, so that in 
settlements and in church work and in industrial schools of all 
kinds some form of the subject is given. A college graduate who 
has had strong courses in sciences has the necessary grounding 
for her work. These sciences should include biology, chemistry 
(both inorganic and organic), physics, and also sociology and 
economics. Her special training in advance of this should in- 
clude nutrition and dietetics, sanitation and hygiene, the practi- 

81 



82 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

cal study of the household arts, supplementary and applied 
work in economics and sociology, and methods of teaching. Such 
a course in Home Economics may be found in several training 
schools and colleges. 

It may be that the younger college women, after taking train- 
ing in Home Economics, will need to spend a year or so in the 
elementary field to gain the experience in teaching that most 
superintendents and supervisors now require. This, however, 
should not be looked upon as a hardship, for there is great need 
of strong work in Home Economics in the elementary schools of 
this country. It is here, indeed, that one perhaps comes most 
closely in contact with the actual problems of the people, because 
comparatively few of our young girls pass beyond the elementary 
school. In the elementary schools the salaries range from $800 
to $1,200 a year. A young woman working in an elementary 
school has the possibility of advance along two lines. If she has 
business ability and the power to deal with people, and can take 
some advanced training, she may become supervisor of either 
Domestic Science or Domestic Art, or both. Of course, these posi- 
tions are somewhat rare and require maturity, and are something 
for the future rather than for the young woman just leaving col- 
lege. The salary of a city supervisor now ranges from $2,000 to 
$3,000 a year. 

The secondary field is now affording rich opportunities for 
the teaching of Domestic Science. Technical and practical arts 
high schools are springing up all over the country, and many high 
schools of the older type are introducing the subject. In the 
practical arts high schools the subject is designed not only to 
train the pupils for home life, but also to give them something 
which may serve as a means of gaining a livelihood. The High 
School of Practical Arts, Dorchester, Mass., is of this type. In 
the general or classical high school the subject is given as train- 
ing for the home, and is usually developed more along scientific 
lines. Only a woman with a very strong practical tendency 
should go into industrial work. This term is used as meaning 
something rather different from the work given in the practical 
arts high school. Work, for instance, in a State reformatory is 
of a decidedly industrial character. It is given to older women 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 83 

in order to train them in carrying on the work of tjie institution 
or to give them a respectable trade when they leave the institu- 
tion. In industrial work of this character and in settlement 
work a keen interest in one's fellow-beings is an absolute essential ; 
not only that, but the power of insight, the ability to meet people 
on their own ground. 

In college and university work there is a place for the young 
woman whose interest is along these lines, but who perhaps has 
the more scholarly bent. For college and university work the 
training in sciences should be more severe than that given in the 
ordinary undergraduate course. Our best training schools are 
now offering advanced work under able instructors, which 
counts for an M.A. or even a Ph.D. Although our training 
schools are graduating an increasing number of candidates 
for such positions, the supply of thoroughly efficient and well- 
trained teachers has not yet equalled the demand. Salaries vary 
in different parts of the country for secondary and college teaching, 
and the cost of living in a given locality must always be taken 
into account. They compare favorably with teachers' salaries 
in general, and range from $800 for the inexperienced assistant 
to $2,500 or $3,000 for the head of a college department. 

But there are other fields than teaching for the woman trained 
in Domestic Science. The value of applied science is steadily 
gaining recognition. The great interest in nutrition manifest 
in so many quarters has given a new interpretation to the posi- 
tion of matron or supervisor of the dining-room of the large 
institution. For many years practical women have done good 
work as stewards and housekeepers. But, on the whole, the 
dietaries of our college and school dormitories and even of our 
hospitals have fallen far short of the requirements for proper 
nutrition. This is felt so strongly in most progressive institu- 
tions that the dietitian is coming to rank with members of the 
teaching staff; and in our hospitals severe training is required 
in preparation. With the demand for practical women who also 
have training on the scientific side there has happily come an 
increase in the salary. A letter written on April 8, 1909, from 
a hospital committee (of an institution of good standing in the 
West) says: 



84 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

We want a woman (as Superintendent of Hospital Economics) who 
is more highly trained and more capable than those who commonly fill 
positions as housekeepers or matrons of hospitals. In a word, we want 
a domestic scientist trained, to a certain degree, for institution work, — 
one who will bring scientific principles to bear upon the conduct of all 
the domestic affairs of the hospital, including service, kitchens, laundries, 
food supplies, dietaries, and the teaching of dietetics. . . . We expect 
to pay a salary of about $1,200 a year in addition to living expenses. 

It is hardly fair to say that such a salary as this is given in all 
cases; but taking into account the fact that all living expenses 
are paid, including laundry, a salary of $800 in addition to this 
is very fair, compared with salaries in other occupations. It 
must be noted that no college training, and no training in any 
Domestic Science school in mere subject-matter, is sufficient for 
such a position. Practical experience as an apprentice in the 
workings of an institution is absolutely essential at the very be- 
ginning. A few of our institutions where Domestic Science is 
taught are now opening up courses in Institutional Management, 
where actual experience will be given in dealing with the problems 
of the institution. A three months' course is also open to a lim- 
ited number of students in the Department of Charities of New 
York City, where a young woman who has had a course in Domes- 
tic Science may have practical work in institutional kitchens 
for this length of time. This is certainly an excellent field for 
the scientifically trained and thoroughly practical young woman. 
It is said by a number of instructors engaged in Domestic Sci- 
ence training schools that the supply of competent women is 
not equal to the demand for trained dietitians. 

The demand in our large cities for lunch-rooms near the centre 
of business also affords opportunity for the enterprising young 
woman. We are all familiar with the fact that tea-rooms and 
lunch-rooms are springing up on almost every corner in certain 
localities in many of our large cities. In many cases these are 
run successfully by women who have had no training outside of 
that to be found in practical housekeeping. One of the most 
successful enterprises of this kind is conducted by a young woman 
in Boston who is a college graduate. She became assistant in 
a large and well-conducted lunch-room in a Western city, and then 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 85 

began in a small way in Boston. She has now one of the most 
successful groups of lunchrooms in the country. It is, of course, 
necessary to have capital, and it is here that many young women 
would find difficulty. But at least at the beginning a young woman 
could act as an assistant in some such enterprise and perhaps 
launch out for herself later. As yet the statistics are incomplete 
in regard to this work. This is a field that needs further inves- 
tigation. 

Catering is perhaps somewhat more precarious, since a woman 
must know her locality well before she can work up any large 
amount of business; and unless she is known in a neighborhood, 
it might be difficult for her at first to make her way. There is no 
doubt, however, that this is a growing field. This and the selling 
of cooked food have hardly developed as yet into trades or occupa- 
tions, but in every city will be found some few women who have 
worked up a remunerative business. Both in lunch-room work 
and in catering one needs to know the business field and business 
methods, and in catering one must be an expert in social usage. 

Laundering is not treated in this article, but this is doubtless 
a field that will develop in the future. Altogether, in the group 
of occupations for which a Domestic Science course would give 
training, there is abundant opportunity for the young woman 
with initiative and business ability. 



THE INSTITUTIONAL DIETITIAN 

FLORENCE R. CORBETT 

Instructor at Teachers College, Dietitian and Head of Whittier Hall Dining- 
rooms, Consulting Dietitian to Department of Public Charities 
of New York Citt 

The Field of Work. 

The institutional dietitian finds work in various divisions of 
the dietary or the food administration department of the insti- 
tution, but is most useful when she is prepared, by reason of 
native ability, special training, and experience, to undertake the 
supervision of the entire dietary department and all the phases 



86 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

of food administration in the institution. Whenever the in- 
stitution is of such size (census over two hundred) that it is im- 
possible for one person to supervise successfully the detail work 
of the dietary department, the organization is strengthened by 
giving assistance to the capable director rather than by 
dividing the responsibility. Where, for any reason, it is found 
impracticable to give over the entire food administration to one 
person, the trained dietitian is found to be useful in supervising 
smaller fields or divisions of work in the dietary department of 
the institution; as, for example, the preparation of special diet 
for ward patients and private patients in hospitals, the prepara- 
tion of all food for private patients, or the supervision of some one 
kitchen or group of kitchens, or in the instruction of classes of 
nurses in dietetics. 

The Demand and Remuneration. 

Until recently the greater demand for women trained to under- 
take work of this nature has been from hospitals and charitable 
or semi-charitable institutions. The remuneration for this work 
has been at the minimum about $40 per month, with room, board, 
and laundry; the average salary for a responsible position has 
been about $75 per month, with room, board, and laundry; and 
the higher salaries were from $1,200 a year up, with full mainte- 
nance. 

There has recently arisen a demand for women trained in food 
administration to take charge of this work in high-class restau- 
rants, lunch-rooms, apartment hotels, clubs, summer hotels, and 
similar commercial enterprises. In these fields of work the sal- 
aries are more nearly commensurate with the responsibility in- 
volved in the handling of the large amounts of supplies and of 
money. 

The Training. 

The training required in preparation for work of the sort de- 
scribed must include thorough grounding in the natural sciences, 
in economics, in food selection, preparation, and service; in die- 
tetics, as represented in the selection and preparation of food in 
health and disease and in various conditions of life; the study of 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 87 

education and pedagogy, which will enable the student to teach 
her subject successfully to classes of nurses, to her own employees 
when necessary, as it often is, and to her own pupil dietitians or 
apprentice dietitians. In addition to all the theory involved and 
its application in the laboratory, she must have the opportunity 
to practise the principles taught her in some actual field of work, 
as a hospital or school, for a period of six months or more, under 
the direction of an experienced dietitian. The problems to be met 
in the actual field of work are such as cannot be duplicated else- 
where: the solving of these depends upon the dietitian's judg- 
ment, which must be formed by training plus experience. On 
the successful handling of these problems depend the comfort 
and well-being of all residents of the institution, the financial 
security of the dietary department, the harmony of administra- 
tive relations which facilitates work, and, therefore, the dieti- 
tian's success in her work. Only experience, added to training, 
will enable the dietitian to adjust herself to institutional life and 
discipline, and to act wisely in the problems involving discipline 
which arise in her own department among her employees; only 
experience will enable her to make successful application of the 
theories and principles involved in the modification of dietaries 
and the regulation of expenditure for supplies in large quantities. 
These matters are not to be regarded as "beside the question": 
they are vital in every institution, and by their handling the die- 
titian's work stands or falls. 



THE VISITING DIETITIAN 

WINIFRED STUART GIBBS 

New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor 

Popular education in dietetics is a three-year-old experiment 
in New York City. The instruction is given in the tenement 
houses by a visiting dietitian, under the auspices of the oldest 
relief association of the city. It is the purpose of this paper to 
sketch the possibilities of this work as a field for trained dieti- 
tians. 



88 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

A momentary view of conditions will settle the question as to 
whether a trained worker is a necessity. As the work is carried 
on in New York, the teacher enters the home, enlists the interest 
of the house-mother, and then, with the family income as a work- 
ing basis, proceeds to construct as rational a family dietary as is 
possible with resources at hand. This is followed by lessons in 
proper preparation of the food. To carry on this work successfully 
a woman should be capable of taking the large view of current 
social problems. She should be willing to let her work be merged 
in the other activities which are on foot with social improvement 
as their goal. She must be able, by force of her very training and 
personality, to rouse the women to active interest, and she must 
be ready to forestall rebuffs and, if necessary, to gain her point 
by sheer doggedness. The dietitian who has her eyes opened to 
the relation her profession bears to the really vital things realizes 
that here is a field of work running parallel to that of the school- 
room, and that the problem of feeding the workingman's family, 
with the workingman's income as a sole dependence, is complex 
enough to keep her wits well sharpened. The visiting dietitian 
may make her work of distinct economic value if, by teaching the 
dependent family to use every resource, she helps them to plant 
their feet firmly beyond the "poverty line." 

The instruction necessarily varies with each family's needs. 
If the father is tubercular, the children anaemic, and the mother 
rheumatic, all these features enter into the final working out of 
the problem. Instruction can very often be most effectively 
carried on in groups, one mother playing hostess to a group of 
friends: if the housekeeper is a "little mother," she can be helped 
in the same way, provided her friends are sufficiently interested 
to take the lessons seriously. The work of the visiting nurse can 
often be supplemented in a most helpful manner, as, after acute 
symptoms are relieved, the case is often one where diet is all 
important in effecting a cure. Experience has proved that the 
maximum of results is obtained if the teaching is illustrated by 
concrete examples of possible dietaries. It is necessary to keep 
constantly in mind the fact that the family resources are, first, 
last, and all the time, to be considered. This is so important that 
it is continually emphasized in the present paper. 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 89 

Little has been said of the food question itself^ as it is taken 
for granted that a dietitian undertaking this work would be 
equipped with the necessary knowledge of dietetics, and that she 
would take as her watchword "the maximum of nourishment for 
the minimum of outlay. 5 ' She would also acquaint herself thor- 
oughly with the prices of food-stuffs in the territory wherein she 
planned to work. 

The final effectiveness of work like this would be much im- 
paired unless co-operation with other agencies was sought. 
Public school lunch-rooms, mothers' clubs, settlement classes, 
etc., all offer possible avenues for spreading its usefulness, as in- 
terest may be roused through these channels, and detailed in- 
struction in the homes is the logical outcome. 



INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT 

JULIET C. PATTERSON 

Superintendent, Boston Young Women's Christian Association Home 

Institutional management is concerned with two kinds of insti- 
tutions : — 

A. Educational, including charitable and corrective institu- 
tions, for these should have an ultimate educational end. 

B. Business concerns, such as hotels, public cafeterias, lunch- 
rooms, tea-rooms. 

This paper is concerned with institutional management in edu- 
cational institutions. 

I. Positions may be roughly divided into three classes: — 
1. Superintendents or matrons of college dormitories. Most 
of the Eastern colleges have established dormitories for girls, and 
the Western colleges and State universities are coming to appre- 
ciate the need for them. Sometimes the dean and sometimes the 
matron has the general direction of all the dormitories, and the 
girls are personally responsible to her. When the number of 
girls is large and the dormitories under one management, a special 
superintendent has immediate charge of the housekeeping depart- 



90 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

ment, the catering, buying, care of the buildings, oversight of 
servants, business management. In this large group of positions 
should be included the matrons in boarding-schools for girls and 
boys, as well as the managers of dining halls, cafeterias, lunch- 
rooms, for colleges and schools. 

In much of this work the demand is for a liberal education, for 
the personal quality it gives to the woman herself, and through 
her to the girls in her care. Besides this there must be under- 
standing of and sympathy with girls, executive ability, expert 
training in household management, and business knowledge. 

2. Secretaries, superintendents, or matrons of Young Women's 
Christian Associations and other institutions doing similar work. 
In the larger cities and towns the Young Women's Christian Asso- 
ciations frequently establish boarding-homes for girls in connection 
with extensive educational work. Usually the general secretary 
or the superintendent is in charge of all the work. This requires 
information or experience in business and household manage- 
ment, and possibly some knowledge also of educational matters. 
To supplement the secretary or superintendent, there must be 
the expert in household management, who, needless to say, must 
be a business woman. 

As a concrete example, the management of two large Young 
Women's Christian Association homes is explained more fully: — 

During 1908 the homes cared for 5,291 women and girls, 387 
of whom were permanent residents; and 85,242 meals were served 
to transients. The active workers who carry on the homes and 
their duties are as follows: — 

(a) The financial secretary is the business manager: she has 
the oversight of all departments; she makes collection of all 
receipts and pays all outside bills; she contracts for food supplies 
and household utensils; she superintends repairs. 

(b) The superintendent of each home admits residents, perma- 
nent and transient, — a duty requiring insight into character and 
discrimination; she assists with advice and information those 
whom she cannot admit (in one case six different social organiza- 
tions were consulted before a woman in need of help could be 
provided for) ; she has oversight of girls in residence. 

The superintendent is responsible for the general management 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 91 

of the house; she engages the heads of the departments, more 
or less of the help, oversees the repairs, consults with the heads of 
departments as to necessary expenses, receives all money paid 
for board and accounts for it to the financial secretary, keeps the 
books, attends to the correspondence. 

(c) The assistant superintendent assists in the detail work of 
the office and house. That she should be a trained nurse is most 
desirable, especially in a large home. 

(d) The matron of each home has immediate charge of the 
kitchen and dining-room, the planning and serving of meals, 
putting up lunches, buying supplies. The matron engages most 
of the employees in the department. The lunch-room is an im- 
portant feature of the work of each house, since it is the desire of 
the association to provide suitable lunches for working-women at 
a very low cost. There is great opportunity in this work for judg- 
ment in selection of food and planning of meals, and for skill 
in buying, based on actual comparison of the different brands of 
supplies. The openings are advantageous for those who have 
the desire, personal ability, and business head to become experts 
in this line of work. 

3. Hospitals and public institutions make a large demand for 
dietitians, and for the expert in this line offer many inducements 
in the way of opportunities for investigation and experiment. 
Except in the larger institutions the duties of house manager and 
dietitian are combined. There are numerous institutions, such as 
reformatories and asylums, in which the well-educated and trained 
woman should make herself felt as an influence and power for good, 
by improved household management, by better organization, by 
better sanitation, by feeding for efficiency, by stoppage of waste. 

II. The length and kind of training necessary will vary with 
the individual. The woman who has received a liberal education 
should have much intellectually and spiritually to bring to the 
very technical and detailed work of her profession. Courses in 
biology, chemistry, and physics, in economics, in psychology, will 
have given her a basis for further work. Practical training is, 
however, essential. She must understand all the details of actual 
management of the house. She should know something of busi- 
ness methods, sanitation, house construction and care, dietetics, 



92 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

buying, cooking, house management, and direction of servants, 
even emergency nursing. 

So far as is known, few institutions give thorough technical 
and practical courses in institutional management. The following 
have established such definite courses: Simmons College, Bos- 
ton; Teachers College, New York City; State Normal School, 
Framingham, Mass.; Pratt Institute, Brooklyn; Drexel In- 
stitute, Philadelphia; Young Women's Christian Association, 
Boston. The colleges offer four-year courses leading to a degree; 
the normal school offers two or three year courses, granting a 
diploma; the institutes give a diploma for two years' preparation; 
and the Young Women's Christian Association gives a diploma for 
one year's work. The tendency of these courses is to give actual 
training in practical management, which, however, is still more or 
less restricted. Partial courses are given in several institutions. 

The bare essentials of practical training for institutional work 
require at least a year's work for the college woman who has had 
housekeeping experience at home, — provided she has taken some 
science and economics. Otherwise a longer time is desirable. 
Much the same may be said for other educated women. 

III. The salaries for positions range from $500 to $1,200 or 
$2,000 for secretaries and superintendent; $400 to $1,000 for 
matrons in college dormitories and schools; $400 to $1,500 for 
dietitians, — all in addition to the home. 



HOTELS, RESTAURANTS, AND CATERING ESTAB- 
LISHMENTS 

GERTRUDE L. MARVIN 

Wellesley Fellow, Research Department, Women's Educational and Industrial 

Union 

In the six large Boston hotels investigated, all the important 
executive positions were held by men with the single exception 
of housekeeper. This is a position that varies in importance 
and prestige with the size and policy of the house. In the smaller 
houses they want a working housekeeper who will be an execu- 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 93 

tive over the chambermaids and linen-room girls and scrub- 
women, and who will set the pace herself by a stiff day's work 
every day. In the larger hotels such an army of unskilled 
laborers is required that it takes a woman's entire time to plan 
and direct the work, while the direct supervision of the girls 
is left to one or two assistants. In the last few years social 
duties have been added to the housekeeper's responsibilities in 
the ultra-fashionable hotels. She must be ready to meet guests, 
especially women who are travelling alone; she often serves tea 
in her apartments in the afternoons; and she is to create, if pos- 
sible, a certain social atmosphere in the hotel. The extreme 
example of this is the "official chaperon" of the Hotel Chamber- 
lain at Old Point Comfort, to whom all the ladies at the hotel 
dances must be introduced. Similar positions may be found in 
one or two other popular resorts. The housekeeper's pay 
varies from $35 to $100 a month with board and an apartment 
in the hotel. There is a good opportunity for training in this 
sort of work as housekeeper's assistant in one of the larger 
houses. This involves taking direct charge of some part of 
the work, as the cleaning of the halls and bedrooms or the 
work in the linen-room. The pay runs from $20 to $35 a 
month. 

All 6 of the hotel managers interviewed agreed that they would 
be unwilling to put a woman into any other important position 
about a hotel, and that women are entirely unfitted for hotel 
life in general. Yet there are at least 4 women running hotels 
in and about Boston. Three are in charge of summer houses; 
the fourth, a city hotel. The summer places are comparatively 
small, accommodating from 1 to 300. All are exclusive, with a 
fairly permanent list of guests who return year after year, giving 
the places, in spite of their formality, a quiet, homelike atmos- 
phere. The position -of proprietor in such a house is a pleasant 
one, if a woman has the presence and personality to make her 
start, attract her clientele, and dominate the house from season 
to season, — in addition, as a matter of course, to being a clever 
housekeeper and executive. In such a place there are oppor- 
tunities for girls to take positions as assistant in charge of the 
various departments, gradually becoming familiar with the rou- 



94 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

tine and individual peculiarities of the place and of the guests, 
and taking responsibility from the hands of the proprietor as she 
grows older. This is a slow and waiting job, however, for the 
women who have the initiative and energy to start successful 
places, usually relinquish authority slowly. Only one actual 
woman hotel manager was found in the city. She is a college 
woman, and says that she has found her college training an in- 
valuable background in work which involves meeting people 
so constantly. Her hotel is a quiet, well-ordered, business-like 
establishment in the centre of the city, and suggests a winter 
replica of the summer places already described. There is, of 
course, a wide demand for quiet city hotel homes, but they seem, 
as a rule, to be run by men. 

Perhaps because hotels seem such an ambitious undertaking 
and require such an outlay of capital, more women have at- 
tempted restaurants. In one of the down-town business men's 
restaurants, where only two years ago the manager told an inter- 
viewer that he could not possibly employ women as floor super- 
intendents or even as assistants because men were needed to 
threaten and force and keep the waiters in shape, to-day there 
is a capable young woman directing a corps of waitresses. There 
were in 1909 at least 8 flourishing restaurants owned and man- 
aged by women in Boston. Three of these were under one man- 
agement. In the 6 restaurants investigated, 2 of which are 
run by men down in the business section, out of a total of 614 em- 
ployees, 517 are women, and 97 men. The responsible positions 
are held by 31 women and 8 men. Of these 31 women, 5 are 
college women. The opening position for a college girl would 
generally be assistant to the superintendent of some depart- 
ment, though in one restaurant they insisted that they would 
take an inexperienced girl in only as a waitress, no matter what 
her previous training. An assistant's salary averages from $600 
to $900 a year, the eight-hour day being prevalent. Her duties 
would be those of general assistant to her superintendent, who 
may have charge of the cooking and baking, the service, the 
cleaning, the buying, or the like. 

Turning to catering, we find that in the estimation of some 
caterers, at least, the old-fashioned caterer as such is passing 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 95 

away. This would seem to be primarily a matter of fashion. 
The very large fashionable affairs where the caterer was invalu- 
able are now being given in some popular, select hotel which 
furnishes its own caterer. The smaller affairs still given at home 
must have nowadays an individuality and novelty which the 
man caterer does not understand. This leaves a new oppor- 
tunity known as "private catering" for the woman of refinement 
and good taste. She needs no capital, as she goes into her em- 
ployer's home and uses his belongings. Her time is practically 
her own, as each little contract is complete in itself. Her respon- 
sibility is to make the luncheon or party or dance for which she 
is engaged an harmoniously planned, smoothly managed affair, 
with enough uniqueness to give it individuality. She usually 
writes the menu, plans the decorations, trains the extra servants 
in case any are needed, and is responsible for every detail from 
beginning to end. Here there is opportunity for all the original- 
ity and artistic as well as executive ability that a girl may 
have. 

Closely allied to this is another position of "visiting house- 
keeper," to houses not quite large enough to retain a permanent 
high-paid housekeeper. A woman who has made a success of 
such work says that she can comfortably manage the position 
of visiting housekeeper for three families at once. She gives 
each family a couple of hours a day, writing out the menus, going 
through the house, seeing that no details of the work are being 
slighted. She has the advantage of being able to double up on 
the marketing and on procuring servants. This same woman 
suggested that a girl might take the position as visiting house- 
keeper for one family at perhaps $50 a month, and devote the 
rest of her time to private catering. 

The best opening position for all this sort of work, the three 
women interviewed all agreed, would be as assistant to the house- 
keeper in some large establishment where the routine of such a 
house and the management of that class of servants might be 
closely observed. There would be little or no opportunity to 
assist the visiting housekeeper or private caterer, as their work 
is too limited. As for opening positions in the old-established 
catering houses, the managers of the three representative places 



96 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

investigated all said that the work was organized to be done 
under men, that it was decreasing and not growing, and that 
there was no place for young women with them. 

In looking back over the field, one feels alike in hotels, in res- 
taurants, and in catering, dissatisfaction with the old stereo- 
typed wholesale methods, and a tendency everywhere to system- 
atize, to subdivide, to individualize, and above all to work out 
new methods. Here is the opportunity for the skilled and in- 
telligent worker. 



LUNCH-ROOM MANAGEMENT 

BERTHA STEVENSON 

In lunch-rooms of the type of the Laboratory Kitchen, in which 
I am engaged, there is a need for women who will view their work 
in a professional as well as in a business light. A special demand 
for college women ought, therefore, to result. 

In applying the word " professional" to this trade I am not using 
it in any strained sense. I mean that a course in college which 
includes appropriate subjects fits a woman technically to deal 
with foods from the standpoint of both nutrition and preparation. 
For example, a knowledge of chemistry is almost indispensable 
in the proper care of foods which are kept from one day to an- 
other. I have sometimes thought also that laboratory training 
is essential to even a slight appreciation of cleanliness, and though 
the fact is rarely recognized, the strictest hospital methods should 
obtain in the well-run kitchen. The difference in these details 
will make itself felt in the greater value of the food and in the 
consequent health and satisfaction of those who depend regu- 
larly on some special well-kept lunch-room. 

In this business better salaries are to be had than are usually 
paid in teaching, and exceptionally high salaries are paid to women 
who can carry large responsibilities and who combine the training 
and business qualifications. Here, however, many college women 
stumble, and drop out of business or are dropped out, to be suc- 
ceeded by those who come up from the rank and file. The col- 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 97 

lege woman is impatient of apprenticeship. If she teaches when 
she leaves college, she practically continues the same subjects 
at which she has been working, with the result that her start in 
the profession chosen is encouragingly high; but too often she 
meets with little advancement during her whole career. With a 
business career it is different: the woman must do as a man does 
when he leaves college to begin business, and go in at the very 
bottom. The lunch-room business is exceedingly technical, and 
the girl who goes into it is doing work entirely new to her; she 
is once again a freshman, and must be content to learn step by 
step. I think the handling of details well comes more easily to 
the trained mind of a college woman, but every detail must be 
mastered before she will be a valuable worker. 

I have dwelt on the technical demands of lunch-room work, 
but another very important side is ability to deal with people, 
both the public and the employees. College is an important 
factor in bringing out a power of co-operation, and the human 
side of its training is of no little importance. 



LAUNDRY WORK 
GRACE G. WHITE 

Sunshine Laundry, Bbookline, Massachusetts 

Work that meets a real need is the best kind to do, and 
is sure always to be in demand. Its usefulness and steadiness 
are both in its favor, as it not only assures a support, but 
satisfies the conscience. Clean clothes are held by modern 
civilized people to be necessary. He who provides them has 
therefore a legitimate trade, and the demand for his services 
is constant. 

The crowding into apartments due to the growing scarcity of 
domestic help leads to the removal of as much work as possible 
from the home, and one of the first kinds of work to go is the 
family washing, at least in part. In very few homes has either 
mistress or maid the expert skill needful to do up bosom shirts 



98 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

and collars and cuffs well. As these are among the garments 
most universally worn, even conservative housewives yield them 
to the professional launderer; and shirts and collars are the main 
support of the public laundry. Machinery also puts within 
the reach of those of small means relief from the hardest part 
of the family wash, the bulky household linen. Other forms of 
relief are found in the "rough-dry" and "wet- wash" depart- 
ments in many large laundries. Beside all these necessary uses 
of the public laundry there is the "fine ironing" on ladies' and 
children's clothes, and on table linen, embroidery, and drapery 
curtains, which many who can afford this luxury prefer to have 
done outside the home. 

These manifold calls on the public laundry are enough to ac- 
count for the growing dignity and importance of the business, and 
finely equipped laundries are springing up to satisfy the higher 
standard of the public demand. Enough has been said to show 
the ambitious young woman that there is ample room for her 
to carry on this branch of woman's work outside the home. This 
would not mean the conduct of a large and varied business at 
the outset, for a small beginning with normal growth is the nat- 
ural and safe course. There is a great field open for the develop- 
ment of the special new phases of the work already mentioned, 
with higher standards of quality than are yet common. 

The conduct of an average laundry involves many things 
besides washing and ironing. First there is the care of building 
and machinery, including power plant, with insurance of the 
property. Then comes the collection and delivery of work, with 
oversight of drivers, horses, and wagons, and with this the office 
system of routes, accounts, and collection of bills. There are 
machines and other appliances to be bought, together with sup- 
plies, such as soap, starch, cloth, paper, and twine; but the chief 
effort of all must be given to the selection, training, and direc- 
tion of workers. This factor, always important, becomes more 
so as less work is done by machine. Hand-ironing not only needs 
trained skill, but many more workers to do a given amount of 
work. This human element calls for all the qualities most use- 
ful in dealing with people, and it also comes into play in relation 
to the patrons of the business. One of the questions most often 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 99 

put by visitors to laundries is : "How do you ever suceeed in return- 
ing all the thousand pieces to their rightful owners?" This 
question alone suggests the great need of system to reach the 
desired results, and those most familiar with the business agree 
that it is one of unusual detail, and therefore of absorbing in- 
terest and variety. 

Business experience of some kind is desirable, if not essential, 
in preparation for this as for any such venture. The training in 
laundry work given at schools of household science usually 
prepares either for the home laundry or for institutional work. 
Many of its methods cannot be applied in a public laundry, where 
work is done on a large scale, or they are too expensive to be 
profitable; for public institutions are proverbially extravagant in 
laundry equipment and management. The Teachers College of 
New York has fitted up a laundry in which it has prepared a course 
by which it hopes to give more practical training than it has been 
possible to get except in real work. Nothing, however, is equal 
to practical experience, and next to that comes observation of 
actual business. Let the would-be laundry-woman visit as many 
public laundries as possible. She can learn something from all. 
Laundry managers, while very busy people, are usually ready to 
give kind and careful attention to interested visitors, and most 
laundries open their doors readily to the public, realizing that 
freedom of inspection is their best advertisement. But watching 
is not doing, and after visits to perhaps one hundred laundries 
have given enough general and special knowledge to determine 
the nature and equipment of the new business, the only safe way 
is to put in charge one who has had much practical and success- 
ful experience in laundry management. 

The business woman must learn, like her brother, not to expect 
support from her work as soon as she enters upon it, but to have 
patience in proportion as the result sought is more than an aver- 
age salaried position would give. It is sometimes said, "Support 
your business for a year, and then you may hope it will support 
you." This is a conservative estimate of the time one must take 
into account in providing capital at the beginning. Besides the 
first outlay on the plant, there should be enough for running 
expenses and for personal support, not only until ends meet, but 



100 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

until there is a margin of profit. The amount of capital will 
depend on the size and nature of the projected laundry, but should 
run well into the thousands unless the beginning is made on a 
very small scale. To capital must be added the patience of 
years of hard work and long hours, hard but most interesting 
work, bringing into play and training all the mental powers one 
can muster. But she who has the courage to assume responsi- 
bility may hope in time for an income which is equalled by the 
salaries of only a few teachers. 

That women are now successfully conducting laundries in 
Washington, Philadelphia, Newport, and in and about Boston, 
shows that the way is open for others to enter this practical, 
interesting, and profitable field of work. 



DOMESTIC ARTS 



THE FIELD OF DOMESTIC ARTS 
COMPILED FROM NOTES BY MRS. NELLY HATTERSLEY 

Since the gathering of the data of this article by Mrs. Nelly 
Hattersley, director of the School of Domestic Arts, Pratt Insti- 
tute, her serious illness and death have occurred. The informa- 
tion she assembled was left in the form of notes, which have been 
edited for the utilization of the readers of this publication. But 
the material suffers both in form and substance by the handling 
of a writer who did not do the investigating nor know the thoughts 
of the investigator after her interviews with those working in 
the field, from whom the following facts were obtained. 

Dressmaking. 

The art and trade of sewing associates itself in most minds 
with the dressmaking field. All grades of sewing are herein 
required, from basting to the finest stitchery, so that work is 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 101 

furnished for all classes of workers. There is, too, an almost 
unlimited call for art ability in the lines of draping as well as 
decorating, and a more limited demand for designers. The organi- 
zation of workrooms needs those who have managing and group 
directing powers. Thus the field of dressmaking offers oppor- 
tunity for the entrance and promotion of a wide range of talent. 

The heads of the dressmaking departments in the large shops 
are well-paid women. The salary of one who was interviewed 
was $3,000 a year. The head of the dressmaking department 
in one of the Fifth Avenue shops is a woman who was trained 
at Pratt Institute, and who is paid $3,750 a year. She has under 
her in the sales department a Wellesley College woman, whose 
salary is about $1,500 a year. 

In the large city department stores there are women employed 
in the dressmaking salesroom of the special order department 
whose work it is to meet the customers, to consult with them as 
to the kind of garment wanted, materials suitable for such, the 
design for the garment, and to give the estimate of the cost. After 
the order has been taken by one of these women, she sends a full 
description of the gown to the workroom, and supervises the 
making. She is present at the fittings, and sees that the gown 
is finished satisfactorily. These women hold their customers 
from season to season, and often plan out the whole season's 
wardrobe for them. They are paid a good wage, and are employed 
throughout the year. Most of the women in such positions have 
been formerly employed in minor positions, as cash-girls and sales- 
women, and have worked into their present positions step by 
step. They must be women of some general education and have a 
great deal of tact in handling people. They must also be thor- 
oughly familiar with the different dress materials and their cost. 
In some of the smaller houses this work is done by one woman, 
who is also the buyer for the department, and is sent abroad once 
or twice a year. 

The making of children's clothes and infants' layettes is quite 
a business in itself. There are many successful shops for this 
work alone. One college graduate makes a good living in this 
work by private trade. She had no special training, but was 
endowed with good natural taste and some originality. 



102 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

Millinery. 

The millinery business requires of its workers not more art 
than dressmaking, but less sewing, both in ability and extent. 
Those who are and remain preparers for the trimmers or makers 
of the ready-to-wear hats have the greatest amount of sewing 
to do. But the sewing is not of the same detailed kind as is 
required of the helpers in a dressmaker's workroom. To insure 
advancement in the millinery shop to the position of trimmer, 
there must be artistic ability and special knack for this line of 
feminine art. Unless one possesses this ability and special knack, 
there would seem to be little profit in going into the millinery 
trade. The seasons for the millinery business are much shorter 
than for dressmaking, the wholesale seasons beginning in Janu- 
ary and in July, and the retail seasons beginning in February and 
March and in September. Seasons are from six to ten weeks, 
which is longer than formerly on account of the Southern tourists' 
trade. Though the wholesale trade seasons alternate with the 
retail seasons, they use such a different and somewhat inferior 
class of workmanship that the same worker cannot, as a rule, 
transfer herself as the market may demand, and so keep busy 
throughout the year. The large millinery establishments and 
departments of the dry-goods shops retain their best workers 
throughout the year, but the apprentices and those in the less 
important positions are usually engaged only for the season. 
Head-trimmers are paid anywhere from $30 to $40 a week. Those 
in charge of the different workrooms are usually paid about $18 
a week. 

Wanamaker's general manager would be glad to have college 
women as heads of departments in his store, providing they were 
content to begin in subordinate positions and willing to develop 
business capacity and genius for taking pains. In the millinery 
department the head-buyer is a man, who goes to Europe twice 
a year to manage the business end of the buying. Two head- 
women go with him to choose the style of hats, and are paid as 
high as $6,500. College women should reach such a position 
after three or four years' work, all other things being favorable. 

At one of the large and fashionable establishments on Fifth 
Avenue, New York City, the head of the millinery department is 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 103 

a man, who was trained at Pratt Institute, and has worked his 
way up to his present position, where he receives a large salary. 
It seems absurd that men should hold positions of this kind when 
it is eminently women's work. There are a large number of 
very successful men milliners. Another young man who took 
the technical course at Pratt opened a millinery establishment 
in Washington, D.C., in partnership with a young woman class- 
mate. They soon occupied a whole floor in a large house in the 
fashionable centre of Washington, and cater to a very high class 
of customers. 

Young women with a technical knowledge of millinery, and 
sufficient education and ability to start a business of their own 
and finance it, often prefer to go out of the city and start milli- 
nery establishments in small towns, where their rent and other 
expenses are much less than in large cities. They must be able 
to do on a small scale the work which is divided among many 
women in the large shops. Many of the most successful private 
establishments in New York have been started on a very small 
scale by capable young women who have been clever enough to 
work up a good trade in their own parlors and add to their staff 
of workers as the growth of their business warranted. Two 
young women in New York, who had been trained to teach domes- 
tic arts, decided to go into the business field a few years ago. 
One is a dressmaker, and the other is a milliner, who makes hats 
to go with the gowns. They are now running a very successful 
co-operative shop, and employing several women under them. 

The length of the training for a milliner is from three to six 
months, and costs from $25 to $50, but experience would be 
required after this to give facility and style. 

Interior Decoration. 

Interior decoration is one of the most interesting and delight- 
ful vocations for educated women, and one which seems to prom- 
ise success. There are in New York several women who have 
attained a large measure of success in this profession. Some of 
these have had little or no training, but have taken it up as a 
means of earning their living. 

One woman spent eight years in preparing herself for the pro- 



104 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

fession after having had a college education. She has built up a 
very fine business, works independently, chooses her own architect, 
and takes the whole contract. After her college education she 
entered the second year of the two-year design course of Pratt 
Institute, after which she went to Teachers College, and then 
worked for three years in an architect's office. She then spent 
a year abroad, studying different styles of furniture. She con- 
siders hard work the only road to success. She now employs 
20 men and 16 women workers, and pays her best women 
workers from $25 to $30 a week. She believes that a successful 
house decorator should have a commercial knowledge, a knowl- 
edge of carpentry, painting, and architecture, with special gift 
for color. She considers that a good way to enter the profession 
is to spend some time as secretary to a successful woman, the 
probable remuneration for which would be about $60 a month. 

Another woman had an office in New York for some years. 
She had no special training and was not a college woman, but 
the daughter of an English potter. She had artistic instinct and 
a splendid home environment, and was well educated. She had 
telped her friends furnish houses, and, when financial reverses 
came, took up interior decoration as a profession. She also works 
entirely independently. She does not believe in much special 
training, but thinks one must work from the inside out; heredity 
and early environment are important factors in the development 
of taste. 

A third woman found herself obliged to earn her own living. 
She had artistic home environment and had travelled abroad. 
She began her career in a small country town by submitting 
schemes of decoration to builders and getting the contract for 
painting and decorating. At first she sublet the contract, putting 
on a profit of 50 per cent., and gave satisfaction. The first year 
she made a profit of $2,800, and eventually developed a large 
business of her own, which yielded her $9,000 a year. She found 
it necessary to keep in touch with architects and builders, and 
thinks it essential to have a technical knowledge of plumbing, 
plastering, painting, paper hanging, and electric wiring. This 
woman is now employed in one of the large department stores at 
a large salary. She recommends that a year or two be spent 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 105 

in study of different periods of decorative art, and believes that 
the best way to succeed is to start on your own account rather 
than go in as assistant to others. An infinite amount of tact is 
necessary to manage the business end of such work. 

A woman architect interviewed was not a college woman, but 
was a pupil of Chase, and worked for some years in an architect's 
office. She understands pottery and the chemistry of color. She 
is able to take the contract for building houses and for the whole 
of the interior decoration. She has evidently made a success of 
her life, but gave no figures as to remuneration or cost of train- 
ing. 

After thirteen years as an actress, a woman has been doing 
interior decoration for four years. She had no special training, 
but had lived in Paris, and now has an office on West 40th Street, 
and employs 14 people. She has done houses in Colorado, 
California, etc. She evidently has a fine business. 

Such a store as Wanamaker's employs 4 or 5 women who 
manage the interior decoration part of that business, who are 
paid as high as $5,000 a year. Such women, however, have not 
the same opportunity for expressing themselves as have those 
who are working independently, because they are compelled to 
use only such things as are sold at the store, but the position is 
a good one, and would only be given to a woman of experience. * 

Dress Design. 

The field of costume or dress design is a very attractive and 
remunerative one in a few large centres for the distribution of 
styles, particularly New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Work 
in this line requires at least a year's training in costume drawing, 
supplemented by pattern drafting, to insure an understanding 
of the reasonable and possible in dress design. A natural taste 
for designing must be the basis for undertaking this study. Even 
then a course of two or three years to allow for sufficient training 
in drawing should be taken if really good and progressive art 
work in costume designing is desired. Most of this work is the 

* It should be borne in mind that in most of the instances here cited natural 
ability and unusually favorable environment are presupposed. It should be 
remembered also that the figures quoted are New York figures, and cannot every- 
where be counted upon, granted a high degree of power. — Ed. 



106 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

adaptation of foreign styles to American taste and conditions, 
but excellence of technique, attention to detail, knowledge of 
the kind of work for good reproduction, and a commercial rapid- 
ity in the workmanship are all required of the beginner, and 
increasingly so of the expert, who may receive $100 to $150 
per week as salary. Remuneration is high because the suc- 
cess of a business in the clothing line depends on the designer's 
ability. 

One young woman, after having taken a one year's course in 
dress design and pattern drafting, started in a house in New York, 
where she was paid $25 from the start as a designer. Three hun- 
dred workers were employed in this establishment carrying out 
the work which had been planned by the designers. This same 
young woman is now receiving $35 a week in a similar position. 
Another young woman with the same training has been holding 
a position of responsibility in Canada in a large pattern house, 
where she directs the designing and cutting of patterns and cal- 
culates the amount of materials necessary to carry them out. 
There are other positions where women are employed in sketching 
and modelling in paper and crinoline, also in making up designs 
for braiding and embroidery for the crinoline models. 

One woman has a very successful business of her own, manu- 
facturing waists and gowns. She worked for other manufact- 
urers before going into business for herself. Her forewomen 
get about $15 a week, and advance to from $18 to $25. An ex- 
ceptional woman she knows of gets $40 after having had three 
years' experience in a workroom. 

A general education seems to be no advantage except in the 
ability it begets to deal with girls and plan ahead, and look to 
the main needs, ignoring the petty troubles. 

Educational Field. 

As an offset or climax to the foregoing statement of opportuni- 
ties in the special sections of the domestic arts field, a brief sum- 
mary may be permitted of the teacher's opportunities and the 
nature of her training for this work. Success as a teacher always 
depends on native ability to teach or a very strong desire to be- 
come capable of teaching. The training for domestic art work 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 107 

should be from the cradle up. That is, the environment should 
be full of art feeling, right living, and high ideals. Special 
training following high-school graduation should be not less than 
two years, but three or four are much to be desired if the work 
of the teacher is to advance indefinitely and embrace such tech- 
nique and thoughts as will enrich the home lives and work of 
her students. 

The cost of such special training will be probably about $500 
a year, including board and lodging. Remuneration for teachers 
of domestic arts in public elementary schools in New York is 
$900 a year, advancing to $1,200 in three years. Manual training 
high school domestic arts teachers begin at $1,100 and increase 
to $1,900. Night high school domestic arts teachers are paid 
$5 a night for four nights a week, and teachers of the elementary 
night schools are paid $3 a night, also four nights a week. Other 
positions are open in Young Women's Christian Associations, 
where small salaries are paid as a rule. In technical institutes, 
salaries usually range from $850 to $1,000, according to the stand- 
ing, and rise to $1,300 or $1,500. Directorships in technical 
institutes range from $1,500 to probably as high as $4,000. In 
State universities head positions pay from $1,200 to $1,500. 
Women of college training are eligible for high-school positions, 
and after a few years' experience in teaching for directorships, 
if possessed of executive ability. Supervisors of domestic arts 
in public schools get from $1,200 to $3,500. 



DRESSMAKING 

AGNES HINDS 

Solov-Hinds Company, Boylston Street, Boston 

The occupation of dressmaking has been regarded primarily as 
a means of livelihood, and a young girl, having completed the 
rudiments of a common school education, started to learn the trade, 
as the phrase was. To-day, among the higher classes of dress- 
makers, a feeling prevails that the former apprentice is a nuisance, 



108 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

employers preferring to pay the higher wage to skilled work- 
women. This condition has led to the trade school, where girls 
are taught the elements of dressmaking, which gives them at 
least a little conception of the nature of the work before they 
undertake the real business of dressmaking. 

A girl at the age of sixteen, perhaps, comes into a workroom 
and starts at 75 cents or $1 per day, according to how much she 
knows. If bright and attentive, she becomes a good helper to a 
head-girl or a finisher of waists or skirts at about $10 per week. 
According to her own ability she is advanced, although sometimes 
there is not the chance to push forward, head-girls often staying 
on with employers for years. 

A head waist or skirt girl earns from $15 to $20 per week. 
The next step is to become a fitter, which position earns as high 
as $35 per week. There is, of course, something to be said about 
the division of the work into seasons, which means a dull period 
between, and is a definite drawback to this particular class of 
work. In my own rooms, however, I have always retained the 
girls who have been interested for me, and who have paid atten- 
tion to their business, not working merely for "six o'clock and 
Saturday night," — which practically amounts to a kind of sur- 
vival of the fittest. These steps to the higher wages vary with 
different girls, but the experience of learning generally comes 
between the ages of sixteen and twenty-three. Of course there 
are many who never advance beyond a certain point. 

Many girls do not go through all these steps, — although those 
who do so are best fitted for the mechanical end of dress- 
making, — but start in business for themselves in a small way, 
making dresses at a low figure to attract certain people. As this 
particular business seems to depend largely on one satisfied patron 
sending another, if the young dressmaker has any native genius, 
and is conscientious about the sort of work she sends out, she is 
in line to get higher prices and to go into larger quarters. If she 
is ambitious to become a real business woman, she can enlarge 
her operations by buying materials to use in her work, which 
requires not only good taste and judgment about certain things 
which may be the fashion temporarily, but also an idea of sales- 
womanship, which is quite another aspect of the subject. 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 109 

If the dressmaker is wise in her buying, and thus successful 
in her selling, the next step is to become a buyer of imported 
models as well as goods. She goes to Paris, enters the market 
with the world's buyers, and receives her first education in Paris 
model dresses, which are always the leading and advanced styles. 
Perhaps she buys two or three the first season, and with that buy- 
ing picks up ideas enough for the making of other dresses. She 
comes home, pays the duty, and with the expense of travelling 
finds that she has spent all that she had saved. She goes to work, 
however, determined to succeed. She has raised her prices be- 
cause she has models to show. She sells them and copies them, 
and altogether she has benefited her business, even though the 
profits do not at first appear. 

Twice a year fashion requires new models, and the dressmaker, 
if she is in the field with up-to-date competitors, must buy or in 
some way obtain models for her business. Here our American 
dressmakers have great need of growth or, perhaps I should say, 
of greater confidence in their own abilities to design. Paris 
models are not only exorbitant in price, but villanously made, 
and many of the houses are not reliable in giving what is paid for. 
There is no doubt, in my mind, that the Parisians lead in design- 
ing and the combining of colors, hand embroideries, etc., but there 
are many of our own people who, with a little encouragement, 
could design and bring about practically as good results with 
sufficient effort. Here is one great field for any person who has 
an eye for the beautiful in line, style, and coloring. 

Thus far we have seen that a bright girl with a common school 
education can become a business woman, an importer, a high-class 
dressmaker, with a chance of clearing from $3,000 to $10,000 per 
year when she is well started. There are, of course, plenty of 
instances of dressmakers overbuying or buying unwisely and 
running into debt and failure, but it is, as in other businesses, 
largely good judgment and a level head, and the sticking to one's 
own sense of what one can use, that carry one through success- 
fully. 

Now just how to apply all this to the college woman, I should 
say, must depend largely on her own attitude toward the problem 
of dressmaking and the business world generally. Dressmaking 



110 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

has been pretty generally isolated from educational subjects, and it 
is a fact that the majority of dressmakers are not even ordinarily 
well educated. It seems to me that only in so far as the mind 
trained to be logical and to apply what is deduced from observa- 
tion to the problem in hand, namely, dressmaking, can get quicker 
results because of the greater intelligence brought to bear, only 
in so far can the college graduate find anything in dressmaking 
which her less favored sister has not already found. 

While the college girl is doing her best intellectual work at col- 
lege, the dressmaker's helper is receiving her final training in 
practical work. The average college graduate, at the age of 
twenty-one or two, is not likely to wish to begin at fundamentals 
of dressmaking. She would much more easily fit into the business 
end of it, — meeting customers, showing goods, taking orders, mak- 
ing use of her idea of line and style best adapted to a particular 
customer. The advantages of meeting people socially and her 
education will have given her an easy manner and good address, 
together with the assurance that she knows at least as much as 
her customer, all of which goes a long way in making sales and 
retaining customers. The salary of such a salesgirl would range 
from $10 to $25, depending largely upon how necessary she makes 
herself to employer and customer. 

A good salesgirl stands a chance of becoming a buyer, if she 
has good taste, good style herself, and the confidence of her 
employer. A buyer receives from $35 to $50 per week. I have 
known buyers who had charge of dressmaking departments in 
stores who received $8,000 per year, but that salary carried with 
it the responsibility of making the department pay, which in- 
volves a knowledge of business principles as well as all the detail 
of buying. Whether the college girl has any more aptitude than 
others in this line is a matter yet to be proved. I do not person- 
ally know a single college graduate among all the buyers I have 
ever met. 

Dressmaking, in its best sense, considered apart from a means 
of livelihood, is an art which calls for the highest sense of beauty 
of line, harmony of color, and individuality of style, and for a 
combination of artistic qualities which the college girl, with her 
opportunity to obtain a rounded sense of the beautiful by the 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 111 

study of art in one form and another, should be able to apply 
with good results. But application to the details of the business 
is as necessary to the college girl as to the trade-school girl, 
and unless she is willing to "buckle down" to hard work 
and apply all her ability and intelligence to it, her chance is no 
better than that of her less educated sister. Indeed, it is not 
so good. 

College education ought to prove a good supplement to what 
has already been accomplished along these lines, and with their 
larger knowledge of what makes for real progress, college girls 
ought to be better prepared both to govern and be governed in 
the business world. Whether they are so prepared remains to 
be proved. 



ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF DRESS- 
MAKING ESTABLISHMENTS 

JANE FALES 

Director, Department of Textiles and Needlework, Teachers College, New York 

To a woman entering any profession a college education is not 
usually found to be a handicap. Although outside of teaching, it 
has not been considered necessary, — has been, indeed, depreciated 
by those in trade, — it has been proved a decided advantage in 
establishing many women in successful careers. Why, then, 
should we permit the line to be so closely drawn about dress- 
making? Why should we assent meekly, without argument, 
when the assertion is made that a good dressmaker can come 
only from the ranks, that she must be trained in the shop to 
finally accomplish the position of head of the establishment? 
Has the woman from the ranks ever encountered sufficient com- 
petition from the educated woman to prove the comparative 
value of their individual training? I think not. It is surely 
a logical hypothesis that, if trained intelligence and education be 
brought to bear upon the dressmaking problem, better results 
can be effected than by spending years of labor only over the detail 
of the technique. 



112 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

In the dressmaking shop, division of labor is so carefully deter- 
mined, everything is so specialized, that very few workers know 
more than one part of a garment, and that, generally, without 
reference to the completed whole. If the head of an establish- 
ment has been a trade worker, she may have had actual experi- 
ence in but one line, that of sleeves, skirts, or waists. She is 
not only without business training, without even the "business 
instinct," but also without training in design in costume, which 
to-day is considered so important a part of dressmaking educa- 
tion. Her largest assets are the years she has spent in the trade 
and the "taste" she has for it. Does this not, in part, explain 
why dressmaking, as a business, stands to-day practically at the 
head of the list of unorganized industries? Is this not one reason 
why women, as business managers and organizers, are considered 
unsuccessful? How many dressmakers managing their own es- 
tablishments could tell you how much they made last year and 
how they made it, — in labor or in sale of materials? 

Many of our colleges give a dressmaking course — planned at 
present for teachers — in which may be acquired certain fundamen- 
tal rules of technique. It remains to round out the professional 
education by supplementing training along artistic and business 
lines. For instance, by an art course with special and direct 
application to design in costume, so that the student can know 
thoroughly what the finished product should be, and whether it 
can be considered a success from both its artistic and technical 
sides. Second, by courses in the theory of organization and 
management of a shop, — a definite outline of the many sides of 
the trade; the management of the stock-room especially, the 
chief source of profit or loss; the amount of time that should be 
consumed in the production of certain things, for there are a few 
fundamental stages through which practically every costume 
must go; the cost of that time; the cost of material used; the 
proper profit on each and the worth of the finished article in re- 
lation to the necessary charge. The much-discussed question 
"Can good and yet inexpensive dressmaking be done?" might 
even be settled. Third, by actual book-keeping courses. If a 
successful business is to be conducted, and a daily knowledge of 
the actual standing is to be comprehended, familiarity with the 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 113 

business aspect is most important. Add to these suggested 
courses a few months' actual experience in a well-run establish- 
ment, where both the business methods and technical work can 
be observed, and it stands to reason that the woman thus equipped 
starts superior to the trade worker. She would have still more 
efficient grasp of the situation by working in a model dressmaking 
shop in connection with the college itself: there she would see 
all theories put into practical operation. This is a thing of the 
near future. Model schools for the training of teachers are often 
provided by colleges, so that students may parallel all theory 
courses by work under usual conditions. A model dressmaking 
establishment is equally possible. But the college woman need 
not wait for it before demonstrating her ability to successfully 
organize and operate in the dressmaking profession. Let her 
turn to that rather than to teaching, for which she is so often 
obviously unfitted. 

The old adage that teachers are born, not made, may apply 
also to the dressmakers. At least it is less serious if the women 
of to-day be not so stylishly clothed than that their children, the 
law makers of to-morrow, be unwisely taught and unwisely 
influenced. 



MILLINERY 

C. LOTHROP HIGGINS 

Milliner, Boston 

Millinery as an occupation offers to the young woman who has 
had a college training a field of activity where constant demands 
are being made for that ability which has already proved to be of 
great use to the business woman as well as to the professional. 

There is plenty of room for good brain work in the millinery 
business. The demand to-day is for those who can not only 
perform the work planned and assigned to them, but plan work 
for others and direct them in it. To be a millinery designer 
or a so-called first-class trimmer requires much more than the 
ability to put right colors together, or to evolve a stylish hat. 
One must, in addition, have had the training in which quick 



114 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

thought and action are called upon at all times, for under her 
direction the makers, copyists, and apprentices are guided in 
every part of their work. On the accuracy of her orders, as 
given to them, depend largely the successes or failures in their 
work, and to bring out the best results from each individual is 
almost entirely a question of her temperament. The responsibili- 
ties of the trimmer, therefore, do not end with her own work. 
She requires great capacity and ability along many lines. In her 
work, originality counts for much; also artistic conceptions, a 
trained eye for form and color as well as accuracy in lines and 
angles. But in addition there must be ability to impart to others 
and to direct and guide them. All these are the elements which 
combine to make a first-class trimmer. 

Trimmers and designers are, as a rule, people of temperament 
and natural artistic ability. Add to these qualifications a well- 
developed mind, and the result is a work-woman to whom any 
establishment is willing to pay just tribute in a financial way. 
The demand for such women is always in excess of the supply. 
A good trimmer, even in the smaller cities, commands a salary 
of $20 or even more a week. In our larger cities $25 and up- 
wards, and to some even $35 and more, is paid. Those who 
devote themselves exclusively to designing of course demand 
still larger salaries, and are hard to find at any price. 

The chief requirement for a copyist is that she be accurate, 
especially in detail. One who meets all the requirements within 
the range of her work is very much in demand in all first-class 
establishments. The rule for good work as a maker is practically 
the same in all places, and though it is said that a good trimmer 
is usually born, the experienced maker or copyist is evolved by 
right training. The wages paid to a good copyist range from $10 
to $20 a week. The demands made are much less than those 
made on a trimmer, as originality and designing are not so much 
considered as the ability to copy the ideas of another. If one 
who starts as an apprentice in the workroom has ability, it is 
soon recognized, and there is no house which is not always ready 
to encourage and advance such a one. So far, apprenticeship 
has been the general means of training. Girls have begun in the 
workroom, usually as a result of circumstances, not from special 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 115 

aptitude, and have been advanced step by step as ability or 
demand necessitated. To-day trade schools and domestic arts 
departments are rising on all sides, designed to save the long period 
of apprenticeship. As yet, however, the practical milliner has 
had too little experience with graduates of these schools to tell 
whether such training can be substituted for that gained by actual 
experience in the workroom. 

The dark side of the millinery business lies in the short sea- 
sons. People leave the city earlier every year, and return later. 
The work, therefore, that should take months in accomplish- 
ment, must be crowded into a few short weeks. The ability of 
quick workers is in great demand, and yet you will learn in 
any millinery establishment that a very small proportion of 
those employed in its workroom are first-class workers. 

In more than twenty years of business experience I have 
found the best results brought about by those women who have 
had the advantages of a good education. Better system, better 
perception of the needs and the individuality of the customer, 
characterize their effort, while their interest in the work has 
raised the standard in the millinery business both in the Old 
World and in the New. 

The salesroom of an exclusive millinery house offers to a woman 
with tact, patience, and adaptability to circumstances and cus- 
tomers, an established position, where the cultured, college-bred 
woman has an opportunity to exercise in many ways the results 
of her training. A saleswoman with artistic inclinations and a 
pleasing address, who is interested in her business relations, may 
in a few seasons build up a personal following of customers, not 
only reflecting her good judgment, but adding materially to her 
value and to that of the house employing her. A first-class 
saleswoman is not easily found, and she demands a salary ranging 
from $15 to $30 a week. 

A successful buyer is usually the outgrowth of the successful 
saleswoman, who has mastered the problems of the workroom as 
well as of the salesroom. The ability to sell is usually a natural 
aptitude of the individual, but training gives poise, a better rec- 
ognition of values, and greater ability to please, in place of a 
superficial knowledge of the ordinary details of the business. 



118 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

The best teacher is experience, but not all people can give the 
time required in order to start from the beginning of a business 
career. For these the trade school may prove in time to be an 
effective substitute. Meanwhile the applied experiences of those 
who have, step by step, mastered the problems of the practical 
business world of to-day must, to a certain degree, be the standard 
for those who will follow. 



THE EDUCATED WOMAN IN MILLINERY 

EVELYN SMITH TOBEY 

Director, Department of Millinery, Teachers College, New York 

To an educated woman training in millinery opens two gen- 
eral fields of activity, teaching and trade. 

Teaching may be formal, as prescribed by a board of educa- 
tion and carried out in a class-room, or it may be informal, as 
in clubs and in private classes. 

Training for teaching is best acquired by a good course of in- 
struction, supplemented by at least one season's work in a shop. 
Training with a good teacher affords the opportunity not only 
to learn the subject, but to see a method of its presentation to 
a class. Work in a shop brings the student in touch with the 
organization of the business side of the art, and makes her better 
fitted as a teacher to lead classes in which there are girls pre- 
paring for the trade. All this preparation is preliminary, for 
each season the teacher should learn what is new from the studios 
of the designers, and should bring it to her class. This can be 
done by visiting the shops of the city, if possible spending a few 
weeks in some one of them, and by reading the best magazines 
of fashion contributed to by the leading designers of costume. 
An occasional visit to Paris is as necessary to the teacher of 
millinery as the visit to Europe to the professor of history or 
English. 

Opportunities for teachers of millinery are to be found in the 
day schools, in the night schools, in the summer schools of the 
city, and in some normal schools and colleges. The salaries for 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 117 

these positions are always adequate and often surprisingly large, 
because the subject is comparatively a new one in the cur- 
ricula, and there is an insufficient number of teachers; not 
every student of domestic art will make a good teacher of mil- 
linery. Other positions are to be found in the settlements, girls' 
clubs, and Young Women's Christian Associations of the cities. 
Remuneration in such positions ranges from $2 to $5 a lesson. 
The fashionable private schools for several years have been giv- 
ing domestic art and science a prominent place. One well- 
known private school in New York City has opened an auxiliary 
household arts school, in which are registered not only the school's 
regular pupils, but many of the alumnae and other special students. 
Some of the most successful teaching in millinery and sewing is 
being done in classes for the society girl, and her conscientious- 
ness and industry can be fairly compared with that of the student 
in the trade class. Finally, there are the classes which may be 
organized by the teacher herself, meeting at her home or at the 
home of some member. An enterprising student, upon the com- 
pletion of a millinery course, began this kind of work last autumn 
by sending her card to a number of her friends and acquaintances 
in one of New York's suburbs. She promptly received 30 appli- 
cations and organized 2 classes, giving to each a two-hour 
lesson weekly. She received $10 for 10 lessons from every 
student, thus earning $30 a week for 4 hours' work. 

Trade offers the educated woman a position in the business 
shop, the salary for which ranges from $12 to $100 a week, de- 
pending entirely upon her executive ability. If she finds herself 
not adapted to the life of the formal business world, there is for 
her the private work of the home milliner, who either visits her 
customers or has them come to her in her home. The oppor- 
tunity for this sort of service is as far-reaching as the clever- 
ness of the private milliner will carry her. She must have re- 
spect for the scrap-bag, and see the possibilities in a worn-out 
black taffeta petticoat for a chic mourning hat. She need not 
seek her clientele only among the "genteel poor," for she will be 
surprised at the interest of the common-sense woman of wealth 
in her clever utilization of old laces, feathers, and other hat mate- 
rials. If she can get the confidence of this sort of woman, she 



118 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

may make for her mink and ostrich hats, using fascinating new 
things. A sealskin hat, trimmed with paradise aigrettes, costing 
$135, was copied by a private milliner for a customer last winter 
for $55. The remuneration of the private milliner depends upon 
so many varying conditions that it is impossible even approxi- 
mately to estimate it. 

Trade to-day needs the influence of the cultured woman more 
than she may need to go to trade for her support. To realize 
this, it is necessary only to visit the opening of a wholesale or 
retail shop in a large city. The coiffure and costume of the sales- 
woman are absurdly inappropriate. She does not appear like a 
business woman, who has dressed in the early morning to report 
for duty at 8.30, but rather like a woman in an opera box. Her 
attitude is often rude and bored. The modest woman hesitates 
to accept the opinion of so vulgar a person as to what is fashion- 
able or suitable for her. This type of American business woman 
is the dictator of millinery fashion for us. The extreme, ridicu- 
lous, and extravagant hats in which the wits and cartoonists of 
the newspapers find so much inspiration are the result of the 
influence of this kind of importer. If the well-bred, educated 
woman were taking special training and offering her services 
to trade, all this would not be true. She could, during her visits 
to Paris, visit the bibliotheques to see the old prints and to read 
the history of costume of the period which is being used as sug- 
gestion by the designers of the season's style. Her education 
in history and the fine arts would make her the best messenger 
of fashion. Why has all this responsibility been left to the mil- 
liner trained only in her trade? Perhaps it is because the edu- 
cated woman has not been available. The leading positions in 
the big business field, with their broad interests and magnificent 
salaries, certainly offer the most promising opening for millinery 
work, and the success of the educated woman in this field is 
assured. 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 119 



INTERIOR DECORATION 

CELESTE WEED ALLBRIGHT 

Gkundmann Studios, Boston 

Interior decoration, as a profession for woman, is perhaps 
the one of all others to which she brings the greatest number of 
qualifications, simply in the fact that she is a woman. The 
more distinctly womanly her habits, the more domestic her 
tastes, so much the better is she qualified for this particular kind 
of work, if to her natural gifts be added training. It is a pro- 
fession, however, which should be approached with all serious- 
ness. Often I have heard it said: " I should like that kind of work, 
and think I could do it. I have good taste in the selecting of 
things and a delight in color." These qualifications are neces- 
sary, most assuredly, — but not enough. Both taste and a delight 
in color must be governed by knowledge, — a knowledge capable 
of nice discriminations, able to give the reason why for each 
suggestion, for each decision; and together with taste and knowl- 
edge the decorator, to be really successful, must possess un- 
limited patience, be tactful, resourceful, have a quick percep- 
tion of the individualities of those for whom she works, and a 
readiness to forget self in thinking for another. It is her privi- 
lege and pleasure to create — by the use of her particular knowl- 
edge — the environment for her clients which shall help them to 
live each his own life most successfully. Color, form, mass, 
all have their psychological values, — create rest or irritation by 
their proper or improper use, apart from their values as things 
of utility or beauty, and only as they are given their right place 
in the ensemble are they in any sense worthy. 

There are to-day .two ways in which decorators are working, — 
the one from a shop, an establishment, the other from a studio; 
the one mercantile, a business enterprise, the other a profession 
on an artistic plane. To have a shop, keeping in stock materials 
of one kind or another, — selected ever so carefully, perhaps of 
intrinsic beauty in themselves, — will invariably bias judgments, 
unconsciously perhaps, but none the less unavoidably. "In- 



120 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

vested capital must be turned, money must be made to earn." 
A shop of this kind may or may not be a good business enter- 
prise, — that depends : it can surely never be the place from which 
one, feeling the true significance of the profession, can work suc- 
cessfully, if success be based on the quality of the work achieved 
in the ideal sense. An architect considers the many sides of each 
building proposition, creates his design, constructs his plans 
with due regard to the requirements and tastes of his client, and 
by a series of eliminations is at last able to produce a building, 
the expression of one idea, having much in common with all 
other buildings, yet individual in itself. So a decorator, to be 
artistically and ideally successful, must be unhampered by ma- 
terials at hand, be free to look at each proposition independently, 
solve it on its own merits, minimizing or losing altogether that 
which is mean or ignoble, enlarging and enhancing that which 
is noble and best. 

This kind of work is, I believe, less taxing physically than 
many of the other professions, particularly that of teaching. 
I believe also, with ordinary success, it affords rather better 
compensation. One might perhaps attain to a brilliant financial 
success by ingenious and unique advertising, but there is danger 
here of dropping into a business, losing the profession. It is as 
inconsistent for a decorator to advertise his work as an artist 
his paintings, an architect his buildings. The best advertise- 
ment for all is good work. The compensation depends on the 
amount of work, the charge being a per cent, on the total ex- 
penditure, the same as with architects, landscape architects, 
and others working similarly. 

In training for any profession, one cannot urge too strongly 
the necessity of thoroughness. Surely the decorator's pro- 
fession is no exception. When one thinks of the numbers of 
things which contribute to the furnishing of the house, from the 
coal-bins of the cellar to the slant-walled chambers under the 
roof, from the pots and pans of the kitchen to the daintiest bit 
of bric-a-brac of the parlor, of the many things of which a decora- 
tor should have an intimate knowledge and the numberless things 
of which more or less knowledge is desirable, one will readily 
see how broad and comprehensive the training should be. A 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ARTS 121 

thorough understanding of the theory and practice of design 
and of the harmony of color; a broad acquaintance with the 
history and development of architecture, embracing, as it does, 
the study of the various building materials, their uses and 
abuses, of lighting, heating, sanitation, etc., with their fixtures 
and appliances; a knowledge of the history of the manufacture 
of stuffs, — damasks, tapestries, laces, — of furniture, of wall and 
floor coverings, — all these are indispensable. The young woman 
in college, thinking to make interior decoration her profession, 
can do much by way of preparation while yet an undergraduate, 
in the choice of her electives, taking such as will naturally bear 
on the particular work to come later. 

The woman of taste and refinement, trained to use all her 
faculties, willing to dedicate herself to interior decoration, will, 
in my opinion, find ample opportunity in the furnishing — not 
merely of the individual home, important as that may be, but 
also of homes in the collective sense, — dormitories, college halls, 
hotels, hospitals, and other institutions. It is perhaps in these 
collective homes that the influence of the woman of cultivated 
training is most needed. 



IV 
AGRICULTURE 



AGRICULTURAL OCCUPATIONS 

A. R. MANN 

Secketakt of the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, 
in Co-operation with Other Members of the Staff 

In all countries and in all times women have borne a share, 
sometimes a preponderating share, in the raising of crops and the 
tending of animals. The early explorers of North America bear 
testimony to the skill of the Indian women farmers: they 
cleared the fields, sowed the seed, cultivated the growing crops 
of maize and pumpkins, and without power other than their 
own. By their farming they laid the foundations for a settled 
life. 

As to the place taken by women to-day in farming, a review 
of the census reports reveals certain interesting facts. At the 
census of 1900, the number of women sixteen years of age and 
over reported as farmers, planters, and overseers in continental 
United States was 307,706; agricultural laborers, 456,405; other 
agricultural pursuits, 5,944; total, 770,055. The total number 
of adults reported as engaged in this occupation was 5,674,875, 
so that the number of women farmers, planters, and overseers 
(307,706) reported constituted but 5.4 per cent., or approximately 
one-twentieth of the total. Of the 47 occupations listed 
as employing 5,000 female breadwinners, however, only 5 — 
the servants and waitresses, the female agricultural laborers, the 
dressmakers, the laundresses, and the teachers — exceeded the 
occupation of farmer in the actual number of women employed. 
Because of the large number of women engaged in it, the occupa- 

122 



AGRICULTURE 123 

tion of farming is, therefore, very important in^the consideration 
of the employment of women. 

The census reports for 1900 reveal the fact also that native 
white women, with both parents native, were by far the most 
important class among female farmers, forming 58.3 per cent, of 
the total number. The only nationality for which the occupation 
approached the importance shown for the white of native 
parentage was that of the Norwegians, for whom the propor- 
tion of the total number of female breadwinners reported as 
farmers was 7.1 per cent. The Swiss ranked second, with 5.8 
per cent. 

That farming is pre-eminently an occupation of women in 
middle life or old age is evidenced by the fact that, of the total 
number of female farmers above referred to, only 13.5 per cent., 
or about 2 in 15, were under thirty-five years of age; while 66.3 
per cent., or almost 2 in 3, were over forty -four. That the female 
farmers as a class should be so old is the result of the condi- 
tions under which most of them take up farming. The occupa- 
tion has not appealed largely to young unmarried women. It 
normally requires a certain amount of capital and experience, 
and to a single woman without family ties other methods of 
gaining a livelihood have appeared more feasible. The statistics 
indicate that most of the women reported as farmers were once 
farmers' wives, who upon the death of the husband managed the 
farm; no less than 73.4 per cent, of the total number of female 
farmers were widows. Married women, who were next in im- 
portance to the widows, formed only 15.6 per cent. Single 
women formed 9.1 per cent. Of the 47 occupations employing 
5,000 or more women, this showed the lowest proportion of single 
women and the highest proportion of widows. 

Turning to the classification of women as to type or kind of 
agricultural occupation engaged in, the Twelfth Census reports 
as follows for females ten years of age and over in continental 
United States: farm and plantation laborers, 220,048; farm 
laborers (members of family), 441,055; garden and nursery 
laborers, 2,106; dairy women, 892; farmers and planters, 
291,181; farmers (members of family), 14,691; farm and planta- 
tion overseers, 1,583; milk farmers, 251; gardeners, 1,199; 



124 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

florists, nursery women, and vine-growers, 1,136; fruit-growers, 
525; stock-raisers, 1,081; stock herders and drovers, 851; apia- 
rists, 48. 

With this general statement before us, we may consider some- 
what more in detail some of the opportunities for women in agri- 
cultural occupations other than teaching; and we shall look at 
the question as a matter of choice of life-work rather than as an 
inherited responsibility with little or no alternative. 

General Farming. There would seem to be no inherent rea- 
sons why women should not occupy positions of responsibility 
and trust in connection with almost every line of agriculture. 
There are numerous instances in which a farmer's success has de- 
pended more on the business ability, knowledge, energy, and tact 
of his wife than on his own attainments; and it is a safe assump- 
tion that these women would have managed a farm for themselves 
successfully, as a number of women are doing. With equal 
abilities there should be approximately equal results in managing 
a farm for one's self. In managing a farm for others, however, 
a woman would need not only to show equal ability with a man, 
but to overcome what might be called a traditional prejudice 
against women occupying unusual positions. The proprietor of 
an estate would require that a woman should have demonstrated 
that she is more than equal to a man competitor for a position 
before he would give her the preference. There is evidence, how- 
ever, that this hindrance to woman's advancement is not so pro- 
nounced as it used to be. 

Another difficulty that women would meet in managing farms 
for others is that much of the labor in most of these estab- 
lishments can be done better by men than by women, and 
that most men prefer not to be under the supervision of a 
woman. Frequently this is mere prejudice, but it is difficult to 
overcome. 

There are not now many openings for women in general farm- 
ing except as women undertake it as a private enterprise. This 
is, no doubt, partly the result of woman's not having entered the 
field as a competitor, as is the case in certain European countries. 
With improved methods and means of farming there is no reason, 
however, why an increasing number of women may not engage^ 



AGRICULTURE 125 

therein. For such work their preparation would need to be at. 
least as thorough as would be required of men for similar posi- 
tions. As to salary, women would doubtless have to start at 
less salary than men, simply to secure an opportunity to demon- 
strate equal ability. 

Special Farming. In certain specialties, however, the oppor- 
tunities for women are as great as for men, and in these special- 
ties women have shown their hand more than in general farming 
enterprises. It would seem pre-eminently fitting for women to 
become managers of poultry-raising, bee-keeping, and flower- 
growing establishments, and, in but slightly less degree, of vege- 
table-gardening and fruit-growing enterprises. In certain lines 
of dairying, women have made notable successes. In the more 
technical phases of these specialties, demanding a high degree 
of training and expertness, there are increasing opportunities 
for capable women who have had sufficient special education. 
We shall discuss these specialties separately. 

Poultry-raising. There are four possible opportunities for 
women to engage in poultry husbandry aside from teaching the 
subject: (a) running a poultry farm for themselves; (b) work- 
ing for others in managing a poultry enterprise; (c) investigating 
poultry problems; (d) writing for the press, — this to be com- 
bined with any of the other three. The first field offers the best 
inducements to the average woman, primarily because the work 
is not so heavy as that of most other agricultural occupations. 
It requires less capital and a smaller amount of land and equip- 
ment than certain other branches of agriculture. Furthermore, 
woman is especially well adapted to look after details such as are 
required in the raising of poultry. There are many conspicuous 
examples of women who have been successful in running poultry 
farms for themselves. The second field offers less inducements to 
women because men in charge of poultry farms believe that women, 
as a rule, are not physically qualified to do the work in a way 
that men could be depended on to do it, rain or shine, under 
all conditions and circumstances. In the third field, women 
who have adequate technical education, coupled with practical 
experience, have an excellent opportunity to engage in investiga- 
tion of poultry problems at the agricultural experiment stations. 



126 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

Few experiment stations have yet awaked to the realization 
that women may be employed to good advantage as investiga- 
tors, but where women have been so employed, they have 
shown special fitness. In the last field there are now many 
women who are successful writers on poultry subjects. For the 
most part they are engaged in raising poultry for themselves. 
This work, however, must be considered as an avocation rather 
than a vocation. 

In preparation, a woman, to engage successfully in raising 
poultry for herself or for others, in investigation, or in writing 
for the press, must secure information and practical skill such as 
can best be acquired through a poultry course in one of the agri- 
cultural schools or colleges, combined with experience on a success- 
ful poultry farm. When such school or college training cannot 
be had, a longer apprenticeship on a poultry farm becomes neces- 
sary. Success depends upon careful attention to details, close 
application to business, good judgment in buying and selling, and 
skill in the handling of the flock. When these requirements are 
met, there are few, if any, agricultural occupations that offer 
better opportunities for women who enjoy the work. 

As to income, a good living with what would be a reasonable 
wage in other occupations open to women could be expected in 
the keeping of poultry. Approximately $1 per year per hen 
should be made, provided the location, markets, and other con- 
ditions are favorable. Many women have done better than this. 
One woman of ordinary strength should be able to care for 
500 fowls and rear the chickens each year to renew the flock. 
With best modern methods and some additional help the num- 
ber could be increased to 1,000 or more. The salary for man- 
aging a poultry farm for another and the payments for articles 
contributed to the poultry press should equal those paid to men 
for similar work. 

As an indication of the success women may attain in raising 
poultry for themselves, it may be interesting to note the following 
statements from two farm women, selected at random from a 
number of letters from women on farms: — 



AGRICULTURE 127 

This year I sold $110 worth of eggs from 60 hens, besides hatching 
254 chicks, and using a great many eggs in the family. I have now 128 
fowls. They began laying in November, and we have sold from 2 to 7 
dozen all winter, at 40 cents. I had one-half acre prepared for small 
fruit, — 1,700 raspberries, and 2,000 strawberries between. My straw- 
berries did fairly well, and the raspberries looked fine. After the first 
picking the dry hot weather hurt them very much, so we got about 
half a crop. It netted about $75. I have an asparagus bed, and cur- 
rant cuttings set out, and about 4,000 strawberries in another place for 
next year. 

Last year (1905) I had 75 hens. They laid 900 dozen eggs. The 
average price for those I sold was 23 cents per dozen. That would be 
$207. Then I sold $80 worth of poultry, which would be $287, and I 
have 95 hens left, and my flock is worth a great deal more, as I saved 
only my best. I cannot tell just what it cost to feed them, but am sure 
$100 paid for all I fed them, as they have free range. I am sure I re- 
ceived $200 profit from them. Besides, I take pleasure in caring for 
them. I have neither incubator nor brooder. The hens do it all. 

Dairying. The openings for women in dairy work at the pres- 
ent time appear to be: (a) the general management of dairy 
farms, including the handling of the stock, the production of 
milk, and possibly other dairy products, — many women are now 
successfully running dairy farms, are enjoying the work and 
getting good returns; (6) the manufacture of milk into butter 
or fancy cheese, — there are good opportunities for women on the 
farm to make their milk into a high grade of butter or into 
Neufchatel, cottage, or cream cheese, and get good returns for 
the product; (c) work in dairy bacteriology for those who have 
the necessary technical training. 

The number of openings, at the present time, for women in 
these lines of dairy work is not very great, but it is increasing 
constantly as women acquire the necessary knowledge for the 
different kinds of work and recognize that it is pleasant and profit- 
able. The length of time necessary to secure the adequate train- 
ing depends upon the nature of the work to be undertaken. To 
manage a dairy farm successfully, it is necessary to have wide 
general experience and training. For the manufacture of fancy 
butter or cheese a short winter course in one of the schools or 



128 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

colleges of agriculture will suffice; and one who cannot take 
such a course may be able to master the work by practical experi- 
ence based on the reliable published instructions that are avail- 
able in books and bulletins. For work in bacteriology one should 
have a college course, including not less than one, and preferably 
two years of bacteriological work. 

It is impossible to state with any degree of definiteness the 
salaries that may be expected except in the case of women who 
undertake bacteriological work. A number of women are now 
engaged as bacteriologists, and are receiving at the outset $50 to 
$60 per month with rapid increase up to $1,000 or $1,200 per 
year. For the practical work the income will vary from a bare 
subsistence to a very comfortable living, as measured by the 
capability of the person. 

Horticulture. In the practical field of horticulture there is 
no limit or restriction to the possibilities of woman's work. She 
may engage in any of the fields open to men. If, however, she 
is to be a hand worker, some limitations will arise. In this event 
the department of floriculture offers the most attractive oppor- 
tunities. In the greenhouse, women have made notable suc- 
cesses, although it should be remembered that greenhouse 
work is as trying and strenuous as almost any vocation one may 
enter. 

What the financial possibilities are in this field is dependent upon 
the business ability, practical knowledge, and perseverance of the 
worker. In the cut-flower iriHustry, women are very generally 
employed in the making of designs and in the handling of the 
flower products. This is somewhat exhausting work in that the 
temperature desirable for the preservation of flowers is always 
low and the atmosphere is necessarily moist. The salaries paid 
to ordinary workers in this phase of floriculture range from $7 
to $15 per week, while competent forewomen secure as much 
as $20 to $30 per week. 

The woman who has had a good foundation in the principles 
of agriculture may engage in truck-gardening, commercial flori- 
culture, or orcharding, provided she is supplied with sufficient 
capital properly to launch the enterprise. In the vicinity of 
large cities there is attractive opportunity for women in these 



AGRICULTURE 129 

fields. For all these vocations a good general training, such as 
can be best secured in the agricultural colleges, but may be se- 
cured by reading, observation, and experience, is a fundamental 
requisite. 

The openings for women in the more special and technical 
branches may be roughly classified as follows: as clerical and 
technical assistants in civil service positions, salaries $600 to 
$1,500; assistants in laboratories engaged in horticultural work, 
botany, plant pathology and physiology, floriculture and land- 
scape art, salaries $500 to $1,000. In the field of journalism there 
is at present considerable demand for nature-study material 
from persons who are qualified to make first-hand observations 
and deductions. While the number of openings in this field is 
not large, the opportunities will probably increase in the future. 
Payment is usually made on the basis of quality and character 
of work. 

Home canning and preserving cannot compete with commercial 
enterprises, but frequently a woman may build up a local trade 
that will greatly supplement her other sources of income. This 
is well shown in the following statement from a farm woman: — 

I have several hundred currant and gooseberry bushes, from which 
fruit I can make jelly and jam for city people, which brings me in quite 
a little extra pocket money. Making Chili sauce, sour cucumber pickles, 
sweet tomato pickles from the cucumbers and tomatoes that are left 
after I put up my own fruit also brings me in quite a little extra money. 
From the extra fruit — cherries, berries, pears, peaches, and prunes that 
we raise on our place — I have put up as many as 50 cans for one person, 
and I have all I can do of that kind of work. I get people's cans be- 
fore they go on their summer vacation, and return them in the fall, and 
they are always glad to pay a good price for this kind of work, and to 
know they can depend on having everything good. I have been at this 
work for over ten years-. 



Bee-keeping. While not many women have undertaken bee-keep- 
ing as their means of livelihood, a large number enjoy it as an 
avocation and as a means of supplementing their available funds. 
It offers an attractive field for women who are willing to devote 



130 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

sufficient study and application to it and who are in good physi- 
cal condition. There is little work about an apiary that a woman 
of ordinary strength cannot do alone. Any intelligent woman can 
start the keeping of bees herself with the aid of books and journals. 
It will advantage her, however, if she can have a season's experi- 
ence in a successful apiary. Little capital is necessary at the 
start, perhaps $50 or $75, as experience is more important than 
capital in developing a paying apiary. The profits will vary 
with the seasons. In good years each colony may return a net 
profit of $4 or even $5, while in less favorable seasons $2 or 
$2.50 may be all that is returned. As it is seldom profitable to 
keep more than 75 to 100 hives in one apiary, a limit is put on 
what may be earned. Since the care given to bees is intermit- 
tent and during part of the year is very little, this industry fits 
in well with the raising of poultry, berries, fruit, flowers, or vege- 
tables. 

Technical Specialties. The highest type of expertness and 
the longest period of training are demanded when we enter the 
very technical phases of agriculture, as plant-breeding, plant 
pathology, landscape gardening, and entomology. Such work de- 
mands careful college preparation, supplemented by post-grad- 
uate work or personal investigation and study. For much of 
this work, women are well adapted, and persons having the 
requisite training should be able to secure positions. A com- 
paratively small number of women now hold such positions, 
largely in experiment stations, the United States Department of 
Agriculture, or in other research and educational institutions. 
These positions pay eventually, perhaps, the highest salaries, 
comparing favorably with the best salaries paid to women in any 
occupation. 

Notwithstanding that not many women have yet undertaken 
farming in some of its phases on their own initiative and respon- 
sibility, there is an increasing tendency for women to leave cleri- 
cal work, teaching, and other occupations, and to enter the field 
of agriculture. As farming becomes better understood and better 
organized, the opportunities for women to enter it with prospect 
of a good living will multiply. Many women who are the wives 
and daughters of farmers are taking charge of different depart- 



AGRICULTURE 131 

merits of farm work. Our schools and colleges of agriculture are 
enrolling an increasing number of women students in agriculture. 
The experience of some of the older countries will, in some respects, 
become our experience. At Swanley, Kent, England, there has 
been established a College of Agriculture for Women, to train 
women to become head-gardeners on estates, landscape gardeners, 
and the like. In this country the State colleges of agriculture 
are co-educational, so that women have equal opportunities with 
men in preparation for farming as a life-work. In increasing 
numbers they are accepting the opportunity. 



WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE 

KENYON L. BUTTERFIELD 

President, Massachusetts Agricultural College 

I should like to emphasize this fact at the outset, that women 
who have an interest in country life, and who are alert in master- 
ing the details of practical things, have open to them remarkable 
opportunities for satisfactory vocations in the realm of social 
service in connection with the development of our agricultural 
and country life institutions. 

First, of course, there is the teaching profession. Teachers 
of agriculture are needed, to some degree, in the lower grades, and 
will soon be needed in the high schools. For some of these posi- 
tions men will be demanded, but experience has shown that 
women may become very successful, especially with young pupils, 
in arousing an interest in real agriculture. The rural librarian 
has a field of service that has not yet been very fully developed. 
In the country a library may be made far more a means of com- 
munity education than it is to-day, and the librarian may become 
something more than a keeper of books; she may become a 
leader in the intellectual life of the community. As the interest 
in our country life develops, there will be found other occupations 
also that are distinctively social in their character, but which 
require some knowledge of, and sympathy with, agriculture and 



132 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

country life. I emphasize these opportunities because many 
young women who desire to associate themselves with agricul- 
ture in some form may find these vocations fully as remunerative 
as those which are concerned with the business side of industry, 
and perhaps even more satisfactory. 

I suppose, however, that the purpose of these articles is to 
indicate the opportunities in practical work. Part of what I 
shall say in a general way will probably be reiterated by those 
specialists who take up various phases of this subject, who are far 
more competent than I to speak of the advantages and disad- 
vantages of agriculture for women. It seems to me, however, 
that several things ought to be understood very clearly. In the 
first place it is doubtful if very many salaried positions will 
open to women in the agricultural occupations. That is a rather 
important consideration, because salaried positions for men in 
agriculture are increasing more rapidly than the supply of prop- 
erly trained men. It means, therefore, that most women who 
want to go into agriculture must become independent farmers. 
That is, they must establish a business of their own. Now to 
establish even a small business in agriculture requires some capital, 
and if intensive farming is to be followed, such as flower-growing 
or poultry, it takes quite a little capital, relatively, to start with. 
This should not be regarded as an utterly discouraging difficulty, 
but it should not be lost sight of. If young women have a form of 
work that brings them a living, but desire to get into some phase of 
agriculture, it might be wise for them to begin their new work in a 
small way, as a sort of avocation. After a time, if they can suc- 
ceed at all, they will find the business growing so that they can 
afford to give up the former work, and devote all their energies 
to the new work. Meanwhile the capital will have been produced 
from the returns of the growing business. 

This idea of making modest beginnings is worth noting. An 
illustration of the failure of both men and women to do this is 
found frequently in the poultry industry. On the face of things 
the raising of chickens is one of the easiest things in the world: 
practically, it is an art that only a few can become adepts in. 
Or perhaps it would be fairer to say that, while poultry are the 
most amenable of any living thing to the ordinary care given in 



AGRICULTURE 133 

the farm-yard or on the village lot, when the business is extended 
so that it becomes the main reliance of an individual, there are 
problems arising of which he did not dream when he simply 
"kept a few chickens." 

Another piece of advice that it is hardly necessary to give is 
to prepare fully. Occasionally a young woman who graduates 
from an agricultural college goes to farming. Agricultural high 
schools are springing up all over the land, and probably will soon 
be so numerous that they will train far more boys and girls di- 
rectly for practical farming than do the agricultural colleges. 
Nearly every agricultural college gives special courses in the winter 
or in the summer, where mature people, who cannot spend time 
for a full college course in agriculture, can gain an immense amount 
of practical information, get an insight into the modern principles 
of agriculture, and have opened up to them the riches of the new 
agricultural literature. These courses are inexpensive, and are 
freely taken by women as well as by men. Several of our agri- 
cultural colleges also have correspondence and reading courses, 
which may be pursued either independently or as supplementing 
the work of the winter or summer school. 



WOMEN AS FARMERS 
K. C. LIVERMORE 

Instbuctob in Farm Management, New York State College of Agriculture at 
Cornell University 

The Agricultural Survey. 

The New York State College of Agriculture has made an agri- 
cultural survey in Tompkins County, New York, for the purpose 
of determining and studying the condition of farming. During 
the summer of 1908 practically every farm in the towns of Ithaca, 
Dryden, Danby, and Lansing was visited. A record was taken of 
the business of each farm for the preceding year. 



134 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

Calculations from Records. 

Each record shows the total capital invested in the business, 
any increase or decrease in this capital for the year, all the farm 
receipts for the year, and all the farm expenses for the year. 
Receipts minus expenses is called the farm income. An increase 
in capital is included with receipts, and a decrease is included with 
expenses. Personal and household expenses are not considered, 
because whether one buys new hats or puts the money in the bank 
does not matter in determining the profits in farming. The value 
of board of paid laborers is included as an expense. 

The farm income is what the farmer had to live on, if he had no 
previous debts, besides having farm products to eat and a house 
to live in. It represents what the unpaid labor and the capital 
together produced. The farm income minus 5 per cent, interest 
on the capital is called the family labor income. It is the product 
of all unpaid labor on the farm. The family labor income, minus 
the value of all unpaid labor except the farmer's, is called the 
labor income of the farmer. It represents what the farmer has 
cleared above all farm expenses and above 5 per cent, interest 
on his capital, besides having the use of a house and such farm 
products as were consumed in the house. 

Use of Records. 

From these records, studies are being made of the profits in 
farming as related to systems of farming, size of farms, amount 
of capital invested, crop yields, soil types, and many other factors. 
This article is the result of a study of women as farmers. 

Why there are Women Farmers. 

With a few possible exceptions the women in these towns 
are concerned with the business of farming simply as a result of 
chance. It was not their choice in the first place to be farmers. 
They were wives or daughters of farmers, and inherited their 
farms. About half of these women rented their farms to tenants, 
and received their incomes in the form of rent. They cannot be 
called farmers, since they are not directly concerned in the farm 



AGRICULTURE 135 

operations. The other half chose to continue to make the farm 
their home rather than rent it. Some of these women have taken 
up the business of farming and engaged in it actively. Others 
are living on the farms and accepting such incomes as the farms 
furnish, without making much effort to increase the business. If 
we could eliminate from the following calculations the incomes 
of those who just lived on their farms and did not really farm them, 
the average income made by these women would undoubtedly be 
greater. 

Number of Women Farmers and Landlords. 

Of 957 farms in these 4 towns, 87, or more than 9 per cent., 
were owned by women. Of these 87 farms, 41 were operated by 
their owners, and 46, or 53 per cent., were rented to tenants. 
Of the 870 farms owned by men, only 16 per cent, were rented to 
tenants. The comparison shows that a much greater proportion 
of the women than of the men rent their farms in preference to 
assuming the direct management of them. This would naturally 
be expected. Altogether there were 181 rented farms, and 25 
per cent, of these were owned by women. Of the tenants on 
these 181 rented farms, only one was a woman. 

Area and Capital. 

The women owned about 9,077 acres in these 4 towns, 104 
acres apiece on the average. The largest farm owned by a woman 
contained 409 acres. All the farm property, land, buildings, ma- 
chinery, and stock owned by these women amounted to $396,152. 
The women who personally operated their farms had an average 
investment of $4,922. Those who rented their farms, and who, 
therefore, had much less invested in stock and machinery, had an 
average investment of $4,225. The largest investment by a 
woman was $16,075. 

Farm Income. 

Complete records of the year's business were obtained from 
32 of the women farmers, and the profits calculated on these. 
The average farm income made by these women was $428. 



136 



VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



Besides having the use of a house and farm products to eat, the 
average woman had $428 to live on, provided there was no pre- 
vious indebtedness. This amount in the country, with no rent 
to pay, with at least half the table necessities and most of the fuel 
supplied, affords a comfortable living. 

Labor Income. 

The average labor income made by these women was $137. 
In addition to the use of the house, the farm products, and 5 
per cent, interest on her investment, the average woman made 
$137. This is about one-third as much as the men made above 
their interest. The average labor income made by all the men, 
including all those who just lived on their farms and who were not 
really farming, was $393. 

The average labor income alone does not give a complete idea 
of the opportunities for women as farmers. Of these 32 women 
farmers : — 

13 made — $100 to $ as labor income 



4 ' 


" 


100 " " 


9 ' 


101 " 


200 " " 

230 " " 
351 " " 
516 " " 
592 " " 
897 " " 
920 " " 



It is evident that, although some women do not succeed as 
farmers, there are others who are making very good incomes. A 
study of the most successful ones will be interesting. 



Most Successful Women Farmers. 

A Large Hay and Grain Farm. The business for the year of 
one of the most successful women farmers may be summarized 
as follows: — 



V 



AGRICULTURE 



137 



Area. 

Tillable 340 acres 

Timber and brush ... 59 
Wasteland 10 " 

Total 409 acres 



Capital. 

Real estate $14,000 

Machinery and tools . . 475 

Horses 550 

Other stock 250 

AH else 800 

Total $16,075 



Receipts. 



Wheat . . . 
Oats .... 
Barley . . . 
Buckwheat . 
Hay ... . 
Potatoes . . 
Apples . . . 
Butter . . . 
Eggs .... 
Poultry . . . 
Hogs .... 
Miscellaneous 

Total . 



$400 

65 

300 

175 

1,470 

8 

40 

20 

40 

18 

45 

63 

$2,644 



Farm Expenses. 

Labor and board .... $567 

Seeds 20 

Fertilizers 60 

Machinery SO 

Fences 23 

Building repairs .... 15 
Horse shoeing, threshing, 

and miscellaneous . . . 155 

Total $870 



Total receipts 
Total expenses 



Farm income . . 
5% interest on capital 

Family labor income 
Unpaid family labor . 



Woman's labor income 



$2,644 
870 

$1,774 
804 

$970 
50 

$920 



Besides the use of her house and the farm products this woman 
had $1,774 to live on. Of this the capital may be said to have 



138 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

produced $804, and according to her own estimate $50 was 
earned by other members of the family, but not paid, leaving $920 
as the amount she alone produced. 

Like many of the women farmers, this one found it easier, and 
probably more economical as well, to have most of the crops 
grown "on shares"; that is, a neighbor did all the work of raising 
and harvesting the crops, furnished half the seed and fertilizer, 
and received half the crops for pay. The woman was thus relieved 
of most of the responsibilities. 

Two cows, about 50 hens, and 4 hogs supplied the family with 
milk, butter, poultry, eggs, and pork, and furnished a surplus for 
sale. There were 5 horses on the place, and a colt was being 
raised. 

This farm was the largest and had the largest total capital of 
all the farms owned by women. Its success was primarily due to 
its size. Averages of all the farms in these four towns show very 
distinctly that the larger farms pay better. 

Only $60 worth of fertilizer was used, and very little stock was 
kept on this farm. For about six years crops had been taken off 
and but little fertility returned to the farm. Of course, the farm 
was depreciating in fertility, and cannot be expected to pay as 
well indefinitely. 

A Fruit Farm. 

Area. Capital. 

Tillable 64 acres Real estate $3,000 

Timber 6 " Machinery and tools . . 300 

Waste land 1 acre Horses 350 

Other stock ...... 500 

Total 71 acres All else 66 

Land worked on shares . 65 " Total $4,216 

Total acres worked . 136 acres 



AGRICULTURE 



139 



Receipts. 

Hay 

Plums 

Peaches 

Wool 

Lambs 

Eggs 

Butter 

Miscellaneous 

Share of receipts from 65 
acres 



Total 



$150 

900 

200 

54 

91 

165 

10 

18 

200 

$1,788 



Farm Expenses. 
Labor and board .... 

Feed 

Fertilizers 

Machinery and repairs . 

Building and fence repairs, 

Horseshoeing, threshing, 

and miscellaneous . . 



Total 



Total receipts $1,788 

Total expenses 680 



Farm income $1,108 

5% interest on capital 211 



Woman's labor income 



$897 



$375 
50 
33 

42 
140 

40 

$680 



With 3 horses, $300 worth of machinery, and $375 worth of 
hired help this woman ran her farm, planted and harvested all 
the crops, and cared for the stock. Not any of the land was 
worked on shares. On the other hand, the farm was found too 
small, and 65 acres of a neighboring farm were added to it. After 
paying a share of the crops as rent for this additional land, $200 
worth of crops were sold. Two cows, 30 sheep, 100 hens, and 2 hogs 
were kept. After supplying the family needs, there were sold 
$5.83 worth of wool and lambs from each sheep, and $1.10 worth 
of eggs from each hen. It is not possible to point to any one 
feature of this business as the reason for its success. The farm, 
including the rented land, is larger than the average. It can 
hardly be called a specialized fruit farm, because only two-thirds 
of the receipts are from fruit, and in the record it is remarked that 
the orchards were not well cared for and needed attention. 

Three Women in Partnership. Three women in partnership 
managed their farm more successfully than many of the men 
farmers in the neighborhood. The labor problem was solved, 



140 



VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



by taking in a fourth partner, a man, who acted as foreman. He 
paid one-fourth of the seed and labor expenses, and received a 
house, board, and one-fourth of the receipts from crops and 
lumber. 



Area. 






Capital. 




Tillable 


125 


acres 


Real estate . . . 




$8,400 


Timber 


60 


« 


Machinery and tools . . 


1,000 


Permanent pasture . . . 


50 


<* 


Horses 




980 


Waste land 


5 


<< 


Other live stock . 




1,045 




240 


acres 


All else .... 




725 


Total. ...... 














Total . . . 




$12,150 


Receipts. 






Farm Expenses. 




Wheat 




$271 


Labor and board. 


, includ- 




Oats 




192 


ing foreman's share of 




Buckwheat 




68 


crops .... 




$950 


Hay . . . 




752 


Seeds 




62 


Potatoes 




15 


Fertilizer . . . 




58 


Walnuts 




18 


Machinery and repairs .. 


57 


Lumber 




300 


Building repairs 


. . . . 


33 


Turkeys 

Eggs and poultry . . . 




41 


Fences .... 




37 




108 


Miscellaneous . 




23 


Pork 




173 










Sheep, lambs, and wool . 




189 


Total . . . 




$1,220 


Milk 




636 








Cattle 




112 








Crops for sale still on 












hand at the end of the 












year 




300 








Rent 




200 








Total 


$3,375 




Total receipts 
Total expenses 








$3,375 










1,220 












Farm income 


$2,155 
607 




5% interest on < 


capital . . 
>r 3 women 






Labor income fc 


$1,548 




Labor income for 1 woman 




516 





AGRICULTURE 141 

The acreages of the various crops were: corn, 12; wheat, 18; 
oats, 45; buckwheat, 14; hay, 70; potatoes, 1%. With these crops, 
minus what was sold, there were kept 15 head of cattle, 7 horses, 
2 colts, 35 sheep, 2 hogs, 20 pigs, 150 hens, and 4 turkeys. The 
farm was run in a business-like way. Accounts and records were 
carefully kept for the entire business. These women were really 
farming, and, moreover, farming successfully. 

A Dairy Farm. A retail milk business provided a fair income 
for another woman farmer. On a farm of 50 acres she grew most 
of the feed for 11 cows, 3 horses, and 45 hens. Some vegetables 
were raised, and sold to the milk customers. 



Area, 50 acres. 




Capital, $4,635. 




Receipts. 




Farm Expenses. 




Vegetables 


$159 


Labor 


$450 


Milk at 6 cts 


1,118 


Seeds 


11 


Eggs 


20 


Feed 


140 






Machinery and repairs . . 


25 


Total 


$1,297 


Miscellaneous 


68 



Total 



Total receipts $1,297 

Total expenses 694 



Farm income 

5% interest on capital 232 

Family labor income $371 

Unpaid family labor 20 



Woman's labor income $351 

With a small farm and small equipment this income is as large 
as can reasonably be expected for this type of farming. 

Women Landlords. 

Of the 46 rented farms owned by women, complete records 
were obtained for 37. The farm income for the landlord and the 



142 



VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



per cent, which this was on the investments were figured in each 
case. The per cent, made on the investments varied from a loss 
of 66 per cent, to a profit of 28.6 per cent. 



2 made less than 


2 " 


from 


4 " 


« 


4 " 


t< 


2 " 


a 


3 " 


«< 


2 " 


a 



o% 

•1%- 5% 
5.1%- 6% 
6.1%- 7% 
7.1%- 8% 
8.1%- 9% 
9.1%-10% 

10.60% 
11.15% 
12.91% 
13.75% 
16.78% 
20.37% 
21.42% 
28.60% 



The average per cent, made by the women landlords was 7.84. 
All the landlords, including both men and women y made an aver- 
age per cent, on the investment of 8.31. 

The per cent, made on the investment is only half the story. It 
is interesting to know just how much these women landlords re- 
ceived above their farm expenses. These farm incomes varied 
from a loss of $42 to a profit of $936. In 10 cases it was more than 
$500. 



Systems of Rental. 

Only one of these 37 farms was rented for half the crops. Twelve 
were rented for a cash rent; and in 24 cases the landlords furnished 
some of the stock, usually half of all stock except the horses, and 
received half the receipts, including those from both crops and 
stock. The average per cent, on the investment made by the 
landlords who rented for cash rent was 4.38: that made by those 
who rented for half of the receipts was 9.28. It paid these land- 
lords to help stock their farms. 



AGRICULTURE 143 

Women Farmers v. Women Landlords. 

The women who personally managed their farms, doing more or 
less work, had a house to live in, milk, eggs, butter, meat, vege- 
tables, wood, etc., to use in the house, and $428 to live on. 

The women who rented their farms to tenants and did no work 
themselves received from them, above their farm expenses, $310 
on the average, without having farm products and the use of a 
house. 



GENERAL FARMING 
JEAN KANE FOULKE 

The ordinary college education is not sufficient to fit a woman 
to take up farming as a profession, unless she has, in addition, 
certain training which she can get only in one of two ways, — either 
by the practical experience of having lived on a farm for years 
and having been an interested and active factor in its work- 
ings or by having taken a course in practical general farming at 
one of our agricultural colleges.* If she is intending to special- 
ize, it is desirable for her success to have taken the general course 
and the special course also. There is probably no profession or 
business in which a good education, with the mental poise and 
balance it gives, is of more value than in farming, and therefore 
the college graduate starts with a force within herself which the 
average woman lacks. But with all this, farming, while it is 
possible work for a woman, has many serious and almost insur- 
mountable difficulties. I am writing of general farming, such 
as includes planting and raising, working and harvesting crops 
of various kinds,-— fruit, trucking, dairy products, stock-raising 
and the care thereof, and the management of machinery, and last, 
but not least, employees. That there are many of these branches 

* The colleges giving women the best courses in agriculture are Cornell Univer- 
sity, Pennsylvania State College, University of Wisconsin, University of Missouri, 
University of Illinois. 



144 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

in which women can specialize successfully is true, — to many of 
them they are especially adapted; but to make any of them pay 
as a business (and that is the point of view from which we must 
regard them), they must be run as branches, — possibly the most 
important part of the farm work, but dependent on the general 
farm for their success, — for any farm business or branch of farm- 
ing that is large enough to produce a livelihood for its owner 
must have general farming as its basis. 

Take, for instance, dairy work, butter and cheese, cream and 
milk, to all of which women seem adapted. The aesthetic side 
appeals to us, and we can picture the dairy with its sweet fresh- 
ness, its shiny pans, with firm yellow butter and rich golden 
cream, — possibly a trellis over the door, with roses and white- 
wash, pure and sanitary, with a cultivated, money-making young 
woman in charge. But this is the picture dairy, and except as 
a picture does not exist, — in reality, the dairy must be there, and 
so must the inevitable separator and other machinery run by 
power. Even the dear old churn is "run," not turned, and the 
poetry is left out. But in either case we must come back to the 
general farm for our original supply. The successful owner of 
a farm dairy must understand the care of cattle, breeding, etc. 
She must, to prevent the waste of her most valuable by-product* 
understand the care and breeding of pigs. She must be able 
to run her farm so as to produce her feeds as much as possible, — 
corn, oats, hay, etc., etc. The use of these various things, the 
filling of silos and the feeding of ensilage; the milking, the clean- 
ing of stables and care of manure, — all this is fundamental to 
the production of milk and the running of a successful dairy, 
and, after all, comes down to general farming. The dairy products 
are only a most important branch. 

For general farming, I think, women are unfitted physically* 
and most women have not even the muscle necessary to under- 
take such an occupation. Of necessity a woman must depend 
upon hired male labor, and even more than a man must be de- 
pendent upon some man or men to such an extent that the busi- 
ness is largely run by them and not by her. This is not because 
she does not know or have brains enough to work and run her 
farm, but because she is of too frail a build for much of the work 



AGRICULTURE 145 

needed. The labor problem is the most difficult one that any 
farmer has to solve to-day, and it is doubly so for a woman. 
It is almost impossible for a woman to get men who will obey 
her orders, and even when she succeeds in getting a class of labor 
intelligent enough to understand orders when given, she must 
depend on some one of inferior intelligence to help her, as the 
price of skilled labor would eat up her profits. Farm life, more- 
over, is a life of great exposure, loneliness, and risk, as most 
farm buildings are isolated. It is, then, a serious risk to her 
personal safety for a woman to go down to her barn or pig-pen at 
night to sit up with or care for an ailing animal. Many times, 
too, she would not be strong enough to give the treatment 
needed without assistance, and if she calls in an ordinary farm 
laborer, she is exposed to a danger too hideous to contemplate. 
This does not mean, however, that a farm raising, as branches, 
berries and fruits, vegetables, butter and cheese, squabs, violets 
and carnations, or mushrooms, etc., cannot be successfully run 
by a woman if the surroundings are right, for much of the labor 
in these occupations is light and pleasant and healthful. The 
grade of labor to be employed here need not be of the common 
farm-hand type. A boy or boys, with an occasional helping day 
from a man, would be all that would be needed. If the prospect- 
ive farmer is fortunate enough to have her family home on a farm, 
all these branches may be open to her, for she would then have 
all the necessary masculine help at hand in father or brother, 
husband or son, whom she can call at all hours. She can herself 
buy and sell, oversee work, and do much of the detail. But the 
woman who sets out to farm by herself must expect many bitter 
moments and disappointments, and money loss which she cannot 
control. No woman should undertake farming as a profession 
who has not self-control, dignity of bearing, courage, tact, strength 
and health, and a large measure of common sense. 



146 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



DAIRY FARMING 
CHARLOTTE BARRELL WARE 

" Warelands ' ' 

I wish to consider dairy farming: first, as a permanent occu- 
pation for women; second, as a training for preventive work in 
relation to public health. Two classes of women may be con- 
sidered in relation to the work: — 

A. Those of ample means, who work indirectly through an 
efficient agent (usually a high-priced superintendent, who has 
the actual charge of all details of organization and manage- 
ment) . 

B. Those of moderate means, who are themselves to be the 
organizers and managers of the business. 

I. Dairy Farming as a Permanent Occupation. 

Most women in dairy work to-day are on farms to which fam- 
ily association and ownership, not selection because of fitness for 
that branch of industry, have brought them. On such an in- 
herited farm one may of course be forced to make the best of 
conditions which would be eliminated in the choice of a new one. 
If free to purchase, one should consider not alone the fertility of 
the soil, but many other points, such as transportation facilities^ 
relation to the market, ice supply, etc. In either case the de- 
termination of the product for which individual farm conditions 
are best suited must be carefully worked out, remembering always 
that modern farming is intensive, that it is the day of special- 
ization, and that to keep the output of one high-grade dairy 
product unvaryingly to the standard, day in and day out, with 
the mercury at 98 degrees above or 10 below zero, delivered at 
the same hour, morning after morning, many miles away, to cus- 
tomers who make no allowance for winter storms or summer 
accidents, — is far more difficult than is supposed by the unin- 
itiated. In a general way, milk and cream may be recommended 



AGRICULTURE 147 

for farms nearer the market, butter and cheese for those at a 
greater distance. For all these, I believe, there is an excellent 
opening throughout New England. 

The women of Group A may render valuable service to a com- 
munity by setting higher standards, making experiments which 
others could not afford to make, letting their farms serve as an 
object-lesson to the countryside, provided always that the farm 
meets justly the economic conditions of the local market and 
does not undersell the cost of production. There must be a 
"living wage" margin in the milk business as well as in any 
other, and this must not be disregarded by the wealthy woman 
who would help, rather than harm, others taking up the same oc- 
cupation. 

The requirements for the women of Class B are: — 

1. Love of country life and farm work. 

2. Great courage and steadfastness of purpose, which shall 
hold through all obstacles. 

3. Good physique. Strength of body is frequently needed 
to meet emergencies. 

4. Capital enough (possession of farm assumed) to equip 
with modern dairy apparatus and to carry through bad seasons 
due to drought, disease, or unexpected cause. 

5. Clear appreciation of the great confinement of the work 
and readiness to accept the same cheerfully. 

While the routine of the work varies with the season and lo- 
cality, the outline of a day's work may best suggest the variety 
of problems to be dealt with. At 4.30 in the summer I am 
at the dairy, ready to pack or superintend the packing of the 
milk and cream of the previous night's milking, which leaves 
daily at five o'clock. From five to seven, cooling, bottling, 
packing in ice, ready for shipment, requires quick, expert work to 
get the second shipment off, which carries the morning's milk. 
Meanwhile the steam boiler must have been looked after, so that 
the steam pump may be running while we are at breakfast, and 
the steam may be up ready for immediate use after breakfast 
for the forenoon's work at the dairy. I superintend the cleaning 
of the bottling-room, which includes washing the cement walls, 
ceiling, and floor, and then going over all with live steam. All 



148 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

utensils and empty bottles are then washed and put in the ster- 
ilizer, where, after a half-hour of steam at a high temperature, 
they remain until taken out for the afternoon's milking. 

Leaving the latter part of the work in the dairy building to 
an assistant, I usually go off to the barn for consultation with 
the herdsman regarding the needs of individual cows or supplies 
of grain, and for inspection of the daily milk records; then over 
the farm, to see if the various kinds of field work are progress- 
ing satisfactorily according to directions given the previous day. 

The purchase of supplies of all kinds for house, barn, and 
dairy, planning of field work, attending to the maintenance and 
repair of equipment, looking after new construction, records and 
accurate accounts at every point, which are of vital importance, 
correspondence, occupy the middle of the day, and before one 
knows it it is again time to be in the dairy for the four o'clock 
afternoon milking. Supper out of doors, followed by a quiet, 
restful evening, and off to the tents, not later than nine o'clock, 
for a sound night's sleep. 

An agricultural college training is, of course, the best prepa- 
ration for dairy work. Next to that would be a year's appren- 
ticeship on a similar farm, followed by the short (three months') 
course at an agricultural college. The woman who takes up 
this work after a general college course will find herself fortu- 
nate if she has the equipment of bacteriology and chemistry, 
as well as physics. While this is not a question of sex, yet a 
woman usually has, by inheritance and training, certain personal 
equipments which adapt her especially, it seems to me, for dairy 
work. It is simply good household economics worked out in 
barn and dairy. Much more easily will she find some one who 
can do the field work well, under her direction, than one who 
will attend to the many essential and never-ending details of the 
aseptic technique, which she must master thoroughly at the be- 
ginning of her work for the successful handling of clean milk. 
It is this large amount of labor required which makes the prod- 
uct so expensive, the cost of which is even yet very little real- 
ized by the consumer. 



AGRICULTURE 149 

II. Clean Milk in its Relation to Public Health: the Educational 
Aspect of the Dairy Work. 

"Clean" milk may need definition. In Boston it may be: — 

1. "Certified," which demands, according to the standard 
fixed by the Milk Commission of the Suffolk District Medical 
Society, milk containing less than 10,000 bacteria per cubic cen- 
timetre from a tuberculin-tested herd. 

2. "Inspected," a term in general use for milk containing 
less than 100,000 bacteria per cubic centimetre, from a tuber- 
culin-tested herd. 

3. "Clean" enough to pass the legal requirement of the 
Board of Health, not more than 500,000 bacteria per cubic cen- 
timetre ! 

At my own farm last summer we began a simple educational 
experiment in the form of our first dairy class, to study the meth- 
ods of production and this broader relation of the clean-milk 
work. Lectures and demonstrations were given on barn and 
dairy construction, sanitation, the herd, care and feeding. All 
members of the class had laboratory work in the dairy, so that 
they might understand the details of washing and sterilizing 
utensils, of running the steam boiler and separator, of cooling, 
bottling, packing, and refrigerating the milk. The use of the 
Babcock tester for determination of fat content, and the simple 
bacteriological tests required to determine the cleanliness of the 
milk, were, of course, included. Experts lectured on the trans- 
portation and distribution of the milk supply of a large city, 
and the class visited various farms supplying the Boston market 
and large distributing stations where milk is brought from long 
distances. They then passed on to the study of the relation of 
clean milk to public health, and of the splendid preventive meas- 
ures which are being developed in Boston at the present time by 
hospitals, dispensaries, and the Milk Committee milk stations 
for the distribution of whole and modified milk, with their 
weekly consultations, and their education of the mother through 
visiting nurses, who follow up individual cases in the homes. 

The many requests which have come to me this year, asking 
if I could recommend any one for work in which this broader 



150 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

knowledge of the subject is considered an influential factor, indi- 
cate that there is an unfilled demand in this field. 

The personnel of last year's dairy class is interesting in its 
bearing upon the sort of work with which this co-ordinates. Of 
the six students, one was the head of a school having a home- 
making department; another, a teacher of foods in a school of 
domestic science; two were graduates of a school of domestic 
science, preparing to teach; one, a trained nurse; and the sixth, a 
graduate of the School for Social Workers, who was taking up a 
special piece of work in market inspection. 

Along this line of inspection, whether of milk alone or of other 
foods including milk, as in the case just referred to, there is, I 
believe, large opportunity for the trained woman who shall add 
personal tact to technical training. I know of only two women 
who have taken up this work, and both have shown marked 
success. 

It is along the line of preventive work, I believe, that the 
opportunity lies for the young woman starting out without capital. 
With the present high cost of grain and hay and the food prod- 
ucts needed for the farm laborers, one must consider carefully 
before entering, as an independent producer, a field where the 
sale of the product has not risen proportionately with the cost 
of production, and where the difficulty of securing efficient helpers 
with any sense of responsibility must be constant. The dairy 
farm of New England is not a field in which either men or women 
are getting large financial returns, as far as I am able to judge, 
but it does offer a most attractive contrast to the congested oc- 
cupations of the city. It offers an independence, — a breadth of 
life under more wholesome normal conditions; it offers a service 
of real value in the contribution of a pure food product, par- 
ticularly that which will help in the prevention of infant 
mortality. 



AGRICULTURE 151 



POULTRY FARMING FOR WOMEN 
WILLIAM P. BROOKS 

Director, Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station 

The amount of capital required for a beginning in poultry 
farming is relatively small. Much of the work required is 
relatively light, and success depends in very large measure upon 
the possession of a quick eye and the capacity to note quickly 
the presence of faulty conditions affecting the health of the fowls. 
In these qualities, woman, with her long training in household 
duties, is perhaps likely to prove superior to the average man. 
Man is accustomed to attending to large affairs in a wholesale 
way; success in poultry farming demands attention to many 
details. In poultry farming therefore, superiority in the di- 
rections indicated is likely to place a woman on full equality in 
conducting poultry farming upon a small or moderate scale, 
under conditions such that she can attend to most of the work 
herself, with a man. Exceptional women can succeed also in 
carrying on the business on a large scale. 

Although prices vary, poultry farming must be regarded as, 
on the whole, one of the safest branches of agriculture. The 
consumptive demand for table fowls and eggs is large and con- 
stantly growing. In the State of Massachusetts, production 
of poultry products equals scarcely one-fifth of the consumption. 
There has been in the past little danger of a production so large 
as to carry the prices below a profitable limit; and in view of the 
constantly increasing cost of the competing products, such as 
beef, mutton, pork, and milk, it may be regarded as reasonably 
certain that prices for poultry products in the future will be even 
better than in the past, and that the opportunities for profit, 
therefore, will be at least reasonably good. 

If a woman is to engage in any branch of poultry farming, I 
should regard it as quite important that she should so locate that 
she may use in the business a large area of land. This advice 
is based upon the fact that with wide areas, permitting relatively 



152 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

free range during a considerable part of the year and thus avoid- 
ing the contamination of confined quarters with the attendant 
risk of disease and reduction of returns, success will be relatively 
easy. It is possible to succeed in poultry farming with the fowls 
in close confinement, but it is far easier to succeed where such 
confinement is unnecessary. A second important advantage con- 
nected with poultry farming upon relatively wide areas is the fact 
that it becomes possible to produce a considerable part of the food 
needed, and I should anticipate that such crops as would be chiefly 
needed for the production of such foods might be raised, even by a 
woman farmer, at a cost below that of purchased food. 

I am inclined to regard the production of table fowls, either 
broilers or roasters, and of eggs, as likely to be the most profitable 
branches of poultry farming in the hands of a woman. 

If a woman is to engage in any branch of poultry farming, I 
should advise her first, if possible, to work as an assistant upon a 
poultry farm. I should advise her, then, to take both a good 
correspondence course in poultry farming and a four or five weeks' 
course in one of the agricultural colleges. With such experience 
and training she should be able to carry on the business with 
relatively few mistakes; but I should advise always that she 
begin in rather a small way, increasing the business only as it is 
found to be successful and thoroughly satisfactory, and remem- 
bering always that the difficulties will tend to increase as the scale 
of operations is extended. 



BEE-KEEPING 

JAMES B. PAIGE 

Pbofessor of Veterinabt Science, Massachusetts Agbicultttbal College 

One of the agricultural pursuits best adapted for women seems 
to be that of bee-keeping. The business can be made to yield 
a good money income. It also affords an interesting and fascinat- 
ing form of recreation under conditions favorable to the de- 
velopment and maintenance of health, at a time of year when an 
out-of-door life is a pleasure. 



AGRICULTURE 153 

In Massachusetts bees require no attentiorufrom November 1 
to March 20, provided they have been properly cared for during 
the summer and early fall. An apiary of 25 or 30 colonies would 
require nearly the entire time of an amateur from May 15 
to August 1. Much of the preparatory work for spring and 
summer, such as the cleaning and painting of hives, filling of 
brood frames and sections, may be done during the spare time 
of the winter months. 

Apiculture in conjunction with some other allied farm opera- 
tion is carried on to better advantage than when made a sole 
occupation. It may with profit be combined with light market- 
gardening, floriculture, or poultry-keeping. With the last named 
it makes an ideal combination for women. Bees require the least 
care at the time when poultry need most, as in the early spring, 
when hatching operations are in progress, and in winter, when 
birds are confined in houses. 

Bees thrive in almost every locality in Massachusetts. They are 
in some instances kept with profit in the large cities. There are, 
however, some sections in which the honey-producing flora is too 
limited to insure a surplus of honey. To avoid such localities, 
a careful study of the flora should be made under the direction 
of an experienced bee-keeper. 

The art of handling bees is not difficult to acquire. Our ex- 
perience in the bee culture course at the college shows that 
women soon become as proficient as men in the manipulation of 
them. After a little practice in the manipulation of gentle bees 
one loses one's fear of them, and goes among them, opening hives, 
without a thought of being stung. A careful study of some one of 
the many standard works on bee-keeping, together with a little 
practice with a single full colony or an observation swarm, sup- 
plemented by a few days' experience with a practical apiarist, 
affords all the training needed to enable one to become sufficiently 
proficient to take entire charge of a small home apiary. A prod- 
uct of fifteen hundred pounds of first quality honey, in 1908, 
from the apiary of a New Hampshire woman bee-keeper, is evi- 
dence of the success that is possible in this line of agricultural 
work, when intelligently conducted and properly financed. 



154 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



MARKET-GARDENING 

H. F. TOMPSON 

Instructor in Market-gardening, Massachusetts Agricultural College 

Market-gardening is the business which has for its object the 
production of vegetables and small fruits for a near-by market. 
The work of the florist and market gardener closely approaches 
that of the manufacturer. The raw materials are seed, manure, 
fertilizer, water, sun, and air. The factory is the field or green- 
house, and the finished product may be a rose, a head of lettuce, 
or a bushel of tomatoes. The object is to produce so cheaply and 
so well that financial success may come to the rose or lettuce 
grower, florist, or market gardener. The fact that there are 
women making a financial success of vegetable-growing and forc- 
ing leaves no question as to the possibilities of the business for 
women. What kind of field it offers is the important question. 
In deciding this question, the fitness of women, as a class, de- 
mands first consideration. 

Long hours and much hard manual labor have become char- 
acteristic factors of the business of the small market gardener. 
The normal income has not usually been sufficient to maintain the 
non-laboring manager. As the size of the market garden has in- 
creased, however, and the many details and plans have demanded 
more attention, the time and strength of the manager have been 
needed for the planning end of the business. Now it is not 
unusual to find the manager of the large market garden at his 
office instead of at work in the field. But at the start all the 
managers of the large market gardens were managers of small 
market gardens, and their present position is the result of growth 
rather than of appointment. Normally this should be so, for 
the business founded upon successful experience is the successful 
business. If hard labor, long hours, and much experience are 
the essential factors that bring success to the market gardener, 
the "lure of the land" toward this business is a false call to 
womenkind. 



AGRICULTURE 155 

We can safely say, however, that while usually very important 
these factors are not always essential. Capital may sometimes 
offset experience, and the hard labor and long hours are the co- 
partners of experience. It is possible, and becoming more and 
more probable, that one may hire an experienced man to super- 
intend, while the general plan may be laid out and the work super- 
vised by the owner. Such a course requires capital, however, 
and its expediency may be questioned. 

The type of market-gardening that has been constantly in 
mind, while writing the above, is the general outdoor vegetable- 
gardening, where considerable amounts of a large variety of out- 
door vegetables are raised for wholesale market or store trade. 
There are modifications of this type and combinations with other 
branches of practical agriculture which might well prove pleasant 
and profitable to women. Before considering what these may be, 
there are two general classes of factors which need to be well in 
mind and carefully studied before one decides to go into this work. 
These may be classed as the personal and business factors. A 
short consideration of the personal factors will be worth while 
here. The business factors are not essential to our present con- 
sideration. 

The first and most important personal factor is what we may 
call, for want of a better name, a natural and deep-seated liking 
for the work. A temporary enthusiasm will in no way compen- 
sate for the love some people have for growing things and the 
work among them. In one case, when the work becomes hard, 
the interest departs: in the other the real liking heightens the 
work and only makes one more appreciative of the final results. 
The other qualities briefly mentioned are: second, knowledge of 
principles and methods of tillage and plant culture; third, ability 
to manage labor successfully; fourth, economy in management; 
and fifth, ability to do business, — a sort of trading instinct. If 
one possesses the above qualities and can satisfy the requirements 
of the business factors, the chances for success are good. 

The reasons why the market-gardening business near a large 
centre, if conducted along the usual lines, would not be the best 
opportunity for women, have been sufficiently discussed above. 
There are, however, many opportunities for a special and select 



156 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

trade, largely from house to house, where well-grown and well- 
packed vegetables, small fruits, and poultry products are welcome 
visitors. These places are more often found in the city than else- 
where, for it is here that the natural craving for such food is 
greatest and where the supply is lowest. The successful estab- 
lishment of this sort of business depends almost entirely upon 
the ability and enterprise of the manager. 

Another field, still neglected, is the small town where some 
of the products of the market garden are almost unknown, — as 
lettuce, egg plant, salsify, and many other delicious and easily 
grown vegetables. Often too, in these same small towns or 
villages there is a demand for cut flowers and potted plants, 
supplied only by the occasional visit of the plant peddler or by city 
dealers. In the latter case the flowers or plants have to travel 
through many hands, this all adding to the expense and usually 
lessening the quality. The growing of vegetable plants for sale 
naturally unites with these two fields of work. The equipment 
for such a business would naturally include some "glass," a small 
greenhouse and some "frames." 

To do any such work as above indicated, a person needs not 
only a strong natural liking for the work, but thorough training. 
This can be partially obtained at the summer schools or winter 
courses now offered by most of the agricultural colleges. A part 
of the training should come through actual experience, and each 
individual must needs discover his or her own opportunity for this. 

Some capital is needed. A place must be rented or bought, 
tools, horses, forcing material, and so forth obtained. It would 
not be wise for a person having less than $2,000 to undertake any 
such proposition, and then very careful consideration and con- 
servative judgment are needed before one embarks on this new 
enterprise. 

The income depends almost entirely upon the individual, of 
course, within certain limits. It is seldom that one could lay 
away more than $1,000 from the year's earnings, and more 
often less than this, even when the business may be considered 
quite successful. The compensation from congenial surroundings 
and pleasing work must be part pay for those undertaking such 
work. 



AGRICULTURE 157 



MARKET-GARDENING * 

PERSIS BARTHOLOMEW 

Westboro, Massachusetts 

To grow high-grade products demands training and experience. 
One must learn how to produce greater and better crops at the 
least possible cost; to this end one must study the soil and the 
plant. This knowledge can best be obtained from a four years' 
course in an agricultural college. But it is also necessary for a 
woman who is thinking of entering into market-gardening to have 
good business sense, to be a skilled manager and planner and a 
good seller. Education will not suffice to make her such; she 
must have personal experience. 

I am myself a novice at market-gardening, but in the two years 
since my graduation from the Massachusetts Agricultural Col- 
lege, my work of planning, planting, harvesting, and selling of 
farm vegetables, has been most enjoyable to me and somewhat of 
a success. I desired originally to take up floriculture, but that 
was too expensive, as glass houses were necessary. Poultry-rais- 
ing required too close figuring. Dairying, stock-raising, orchard- 
ing, were not advisable for a woman of small means. Market- 
garden crops and small fruits appealed to me as the most possible 
venture. Although heavy work is involved, all this may be avoided 
by hiring labor, exercising great care that not too much money 
is spent unnecessarily. 

One of the most common mistakes is going into farming on too 
large a scale before the business is learned. I rented a farm of 
10 acres with the prospect of buying, and planted 3 acres with 
vegetables and small fruits, such as strawberries and currants. 
The 10 acres included some hay land and an orchard of 50 apple- 
trees, but these I did not pay any attention to the first year. 

I had a very limited amount to begin on, just $200. With 

* This article is published as an illustration of what young women are actually 
attempting to-day, with and without the help of male relatives. The experi- 
mental stage of the work here described is evident to both writer and reader. — Ed. 



158 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

this I bought fertilizer, manure, seeds, and paid for the labor of 
ploughing, harrowing, and cultivating through the first season. 
All the harvesting and selling I did myself. But I have one great 
advantage, as I have my father working with me. My greatest 
difficulty was the selling of the vegetables. This I conquered 
the second summer. I sent a team into Worcester market once 
a week regularly, sometimes twice, on Tuesdays and Fridays. 
At first I took a stand on the square, and sold to peddlers ; but 
when commission houses offered a good price for my produce, 
I let them have it, feeling it might be a gain in two ways. First, 
it was less trouble, and gave me as much money; and second, 
the commission houses would come to know me, and in that way 
would do better by me, and I could see my products in compari- 
son with those of larger growers. 

The products I raised last year, arranged in the order of their 
money-making value to me, were tomatoes, string beans, shell 
beans, squash, cabbage, lettuce (a specialty of mine), peas, straw- 
berries, and sweet corn. 

The first year I did not pay my expenses. The second year I 
bought a horse, a plough, cultivator, seeder, fertilizer, and seeds. 
This was last summer, and I may say that my farm has no debt. 
The coming summer I am planning to increase the number of 
acres of cultivation to five, and put labor, time, and money on 
improving the orchard. I look forward to a successful year. 



FLORICULTURE 

E. A. WHITE 

Professor of Floriculture, Massachusetts Agricultural College 

Floriculture offers excellent opportunities for women, and there 
are several successfully engaged in the business in Massachusetts. 
There are three phases of the subject which should be considered : — 

First. The woman as owner and manager of the floricultural 
establishment. 

Second. The woman as an employee. 



AGRICULTURE 159 

Third. The woman as manager of a retail establishment or 
store. 

If the woman has a sufficient knowledge of the principles in- 
volved in plant-growing, has good executive ability, and a moder- 
ate amount of capital, there are good openings in the florist busi- 
ness. Several have taken up the work with excellent results. 
My attention was recently called to an instance of this kind. A 
graduate of the musical course at Wellesley College failed in 
health, and feeling obliged to take up some remunerative work, 
built a small greenhouse in one of the suburban towns near Boston. 
She is now carrying on an excellent business in growing flowers and 
potted plants for local trade. Recently I have visited several 
greenhouses where the wife was attending to the ventilation of 
the houses and the general care of the crops, while the husband 
was employed in other work away from home. 

The best preparation a woman could get for work of this kind 
would be to take a short course in floriculture at some educa- 
tional institution, or to work for a time in some first-class estab- 
lishment where the special crops are grown in which she is espe- 
cially interested. In one year of this kind of work one could 
obtain a great deal of information, both valuable and practical. 

I doubt if there will ever be many desirable openings for women 
of the average class as employees in greenhouses. There are a 
few large rose and carnation establishments which employ women 
of foreign birth to disbud the carnations or pick up dead leaves 
from the rose-houses, but most owners and managers prefer to 
employ men. A few women, however, find employment at good 
wages in the packing and shipping rooms of wholesale establish- 
ments. A few women are also employed as stenographers in 
these establishments. 

It would seem as if the best openings for women were in retail 
stores. As a rule, customers in these stores prefer to deal with 
a woman clerk, and usually these clerks have excellent taste in 
the arrangement of flowers. Several large flower stores in Mas- 
sachusetts are owned by women, and these are successful finan- 
cially. Some capital is of course necessary if one is to open a 
store of this kind, for as in flower-growing the expense of equip- 
ment is considerable. The show windows must be large and 



160 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

attractive, there must be abundant ice-box facilities, and the 
interior wall decoration should be pleasing. The perishable nat- 
ure of the product handled also necessitates considerable capital. 



SMALI^FRUIT GROWING 

F. C. SEARS 

Peofessor of Pomology, Massachusetts Agricultural College 

It would seem to the writer that this is a line of outdoor work 
peculiarly adapted to women. There is no really heavy labor 
connected with any part of it, all that is required being deft- 
ness, skill in handling, and patience in attending to details, which 
are all qualities more likely to be possessed by women than by 
men. And if a woman has a love of outdoor work to start 
with, I see no reason whatever why she should not make a suc- 
cess in growing small fruits. 

As to the demand for such fruits, any one who has studied the 
local market in our American towns and villages cannot have 
overlooked the fact that they are usually very scantily supplied 
with all the different kinds of small fruits. Apparently, the nearer 
one gets to the source of supply, the more difficult it is to get 
good fruits of all kinds, but especially the small fruits. The town 
market is poorer than that of the city, and the village than that of 
the town. This means that there are almost numberless chances 
to make a good thing out of supplying this deficiency, and it is 
surprising how small a piece of land will return a good living, and 
something more, if handled properly. Accurate statistics are 
difficult to get, but 5,000 quarts per acre for strawberries and cur- 
rants, 3,000 for blackberries, and somewhat over 2,000 for red 
raspberries are reasonable yields. Prices vary greatly, of course, 
depending on whether one has a good local market or sends the 
fruit to some commission man. The expense of working a small- 
fruit plantation should not be over $125 to $150 per acre; and 
even if the product is wholesaled to the commission man, this 
would give a good margin of profit. 



AGRICULTURE 161 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING 

BEATRIX JONES 

Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects 

Within the last few years landscape gardening has been much 
talked of as an agreeable profession for women, and an increasing 
number of them have been studying and starting professional 
work. 

It is a profession which no woman should attempt who is not 
above, rather than below, the average of physical strength and 
endurance, as the work swings from one extreme to another, 
sometimes meaning eight hours or more office work, — making 
plans, drawing up specifications, and draughting, — and this con- 
tinued for several days, followed by the entire change which field 
work means. This not infrequently involves a week's continu- 
ous work, in which the average day, including time spent in travel- 
ling, is twelve hours or over. The engagements for field work 
must sometimes be made weeks ahead in the busy season, and 
must be kept irrespective of weather or bodily condition, for the 
reason that in such work the meeting must be carefully arranged 
beforehand, in order to be adjusted to the engagements of the 
client, the contractor, the engineer, and the landscape gardener. 

No one should attempt the profession who has not, by nature, 
a quality which corresponds to the musician's ear for music; that 
is, the power to perceive and assimilate the characteristics of 
landscape. In other words, no one can be a landscape gardener 
who has not an eye, any more than a musician can be made from 
a person who has no ear. This means the appreciation of the 
texture as well as the color of the landscape, the peculiar quality 
of each individual, place and its adaptation to specific treatment; 
for it cannot be too strongly borne in mind that landscape gar- 
dening is the profession of a painter built on the substructure 
of that of an engineer. 

If, after consideration, a young woman decides that she wishes 
to become a landscape gardener, at least four years of study 



162 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

should follow this determination. Proper training involves a study 
of the architectural orders, mechanical and free-hand drawing, 
some theoretical engineering, and the necessary mathematics and 
courses in designing. The Lowthorpe School at Groton, Mass., 
offers a two years' course at the cost of $100 a year for tuition 
and a minimum price of $40 a month for board and lodging. 
The time, however, seems short for adequate preparation. 
There is a course at Cornell University also open to women. 
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston offers a 
graduate course which includes work at the Arnold Arboretum. 
All these various methods of study should be supplemented by 
a journey to Europe, as essential to the landscape gardener as 
it is to the architect, and for the same reason, — that it tends to 
form and educate the eye and train it to perceive what has 
been done with the opportunity given. At present the work of 
women in the profession consists almost entirely of what may be 
called the domestic branch. By this are meant the laying out 
and management of private places as opposed to public parks, 
land developments, or town planning. 

The landscape gardener's equipment must consist of a sufficient 
knowledge of engineering to read and comprehend a survey and 
to detect any errors, which means, of course, the capability to 
make a survey, however halting and laborious the effort. The 
drainage of land must be well understood, as well as the various 
methods of road construction, and one must be able to calculate 
the grading of cross-sections and the quantity of soil to be re- 
moved. In the architectural department the landscape gardener 
must know enough of construction to build proper retaining walls 
and terraces, balustrades, steps, summer houses, etc., suited to the 
architecture of the house and the general character of the country. 

The technique of the planting is one of the most important 
parts of the landscape gardener's education, and here the in- 
stinctive appreciation of the appropriate cannot be dispensed with. 
A wide familiarity with the growth, needs, and expression of the 
trees, shrubs, and herbs, is required to give the landscape artist 
the palette which is needed to paint the open-air picture. As 
landscape gardening is an exact profession, no mental slovenliness 
can be tolerated; specifications must be accurately made out, 



AGRICULTURE 163 

plant names properly spelled, and the necessarily complicated ac- 
counts carefully kept. 

As the number of women in the profession is yearly increasing, 
the start becomes accordingly difficult, and three or four years or 
more are often needed before the young landscape gardener can 
count on clearing more than a few hundreds a year, usually less 
than $1,000; she will be very fortunate if, after ten years, her 
fees amount to more than $3,000. The profession is not for 
those who must count on a steady and increasing income, since 
it is peculiarly dependent on the prosperity of the country, and 
is almost entirely a profession of luxury. 



THE PROFESSION OF FORESTRY 

MIRA L. DOCK 

Member of the Pennsylvania State Forestry Reservation Commission 

Character and Scope of Work. 

Modern forestry, however its practice may vary in details 
in different lands, is based upon a few fundamental principles 
recognized throughout the world as of primary importance; viz., 
protection, management, silviculture, and utilization. Within 
little more than a century the practice of forestry has developed 
into a definite program, having among its direct objects: — 

(a) The protection and production of timber upon all land not 
adapted to agriculture, or where the character of the country 
requires a permanent forest cover to prevent erosion. 

(b) The management of woodlands with a view to the per- 
petuation of the most valuable species, accompanied by a main- 
tenance or increase of soil fertility. Among the indirect results 
obtained are the economic gains of stream protection, soil con- 
servation, and good roads, and the hygienic benefits of the close 
proximity of large tracts of forest to villages, towns, and cities, 
affording opportunity for outings at little or no expense and for 
the establishment of innumerable forest resorts in the midst 
of romantic scenery. The preservation of beautiful places is 



164 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

also assured in a sane system of forest management, through a 
combination of economic and patriotic motives. 

Training in Forestry. 

Training in forestry is a special combination of arduous field 
work with many of the branches common to schools of engineer- 
ing. The theoretical and practical training includes the higher 
mathematics; surveying (a great deal of surveying in certain 
schools); biological work, both field and laboratory; at least 
one foreign language, usually German; road-making; bridge- 
building; tree-felling; nursery work; forest-planting; improve- 
ment work in the forest; and other branches incidental to and im- 
portant in forestry. In the federal service heliographing is 
practised. In one very practical school the students take entire 
charge of their own horses; a forester must be a trained horse- 
man. 

Character, Kind, and Cost of Training. 

There are at present three main forms of forestry instruction 
in the United States (1910). 

1. Graduate courses only, as at Yale and Harvard. 

The course at Yale is the oldest established, and may best serve 
as guide. It covers two years, and with the utmost economy can- 
not be taken under $600 per annum. 

There have been women students in attendance at the Summer 
School, Milford, Pa., for the purpose of dendrological and other 
work, but this course in full has not been taken except by men. 

2. State colleges and universities with courses in, or schools 
of, forestry. 

Among the best known in the East is State College, Pa.; in 
the Central West are the University of Michigan, the Michigan 
Agricultural College, and the University of Minnesota; in the 
Far West, the University of Washington. 

At all land-grant colleges and universities tuition is free to actual 
students of the State, irrespective of sex. An entrance fee is 
required from non-residents. The length of course would de- 
pend upon the institution, and also upon whether only graduate 
work is taken, which requires in no case less than two years. 



AGRICULTURE 165 

The cost would be that usual to such institutions, and would in- 
clude laboratory fees, board, lodging, and travelling expenses, the 
last three at the student's discretion. 

3a. Private and special schools. At Biltmore, N.C., the most 
important and longest-established private school, the course covers 
one unbroken year, of which the larger portion consists of field 
work at different points, in different States, with several months 
in Germany. The cost would not be less than $1,100. Of this 
$300 is for tuition fees, and about $800 for travelling, board, 
and incidental expenses. 

36. Schools of special purpose, such as the Pennsylvania 
Forest Academy at Mont Alto, would not be considered in this 
paper, save for the number of applications for information. This 
school was established by act of legislature, to enable the Pennsyl- 
vania Department of Forestry to train, at State expense, a defi- 
nitely limited number of men for three years each, for the pur- 
pose of serving as foresters upon the large forest reservations of 
the State. Both mental and physical entrance examinations are 
required, and but ten men annually are admitted, who not only 
enter bonds for their period of instruction, but renew them upon 
graduation for three years more, at the close of which they are 
free to seek engagements elsewhere. As yet all have continued 
in the State Forest Service. 

Number and Kinds of Openings. 

1. Forestry as a profession for women who are or who expect 
to be entirely self-supporting cannot now, perhaps can never be, 
recommended as a "gainful occupation." In its full practice 
it has always been, probably will remain, a man's occupation. 
Two duties alone render it inadvisable for women; viz., fire-fight- 
ing and the possession of police powers. Foresters of large re- 
sponsibility are required to understand the management of em- 
ployees as well as of woodlands; of camps, horses, and road- 
building; of lumbering, machinery, and saw-milling; in short, of 
all matters incidental to the woods-work of a practical forester, 
in addition to the office work of an indoor profession. The world 
over forestry is more largely a governmental than a private em- 
ployment. In this country most States employing foresters 



166 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

require a course in some accredited school. In the federal ser- 
vice not only is a forestry course required, but also a civil service 
examination. Women engaged in other than clerical capacity 
in the federal service, as in microscopy and dendrology, must 
also pass a civil service examination, and are not eligible for 
field work. 

2. Certain of the less developed branches of protection and 
silviculture offer fields for investigation and for original work 
for women, as in entomology, dendrology, mycology, and also in 
nursery work, which will ultimately open lines of remunerative 
occupation, but which at present cannot be advised as actual 
opportunities for those who are hampered by anxiety in regard to 
their immediate future. 

3. All women who are land-owners or who intend to engage in 
landscape gardening, horticulture, or agriculture, are earnestly 
advised to take at least a year's work in branches of silviculture 
and protection. 

Until land-owners in large numbers learn and put into prac- 
tice some of the elementary principles of soil improvement, of 
woodland protection and management, we shall continue, in 
spite of some good examples conspicuous by their small number, 
to present the uninspiring spectacle of criminal indifference to 
fire, and of economic stupidity in the inevitable replacement of 
valuable by worthless species of trees in our present system of 
non-management of woodlands. 

Conclusion. 

In presenting an adverse recommendation of forestry as a 
profession for women, the writer has in view women who must 
either look first to remuneration for their work, or to employ- 
ment first with remuneration as a secondary object, and it cannot 
be stated too clearly that at present there seems to be no opening 
of either kind for women in forestry. There is a tendency on the 
part of many uninformed persons to suggest to women of uncer- 
tain health and defective education, unable to cope with the re- 
quirements of any profession, that they "take up forestry, it 
would be so pleasant to live out of doors." Such advice partakes 
of the nature of an hallucination. 



AGRICULTURE 167 

While the writer offers the above advice, she is well aware that 
at this very hour there may be some woman qualifying herself 
in all branches of forestry for its full practice who will display 
such initiative and such resourcefulness that her name will rank 
in forestral history along with those of Hartig, Bremontier, and 
Brandis. The exceptional woman has never required advice, 
and creates her own opportunity. 



V 
BUSINESS 



ADVERTISING FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A 
MANUFACTURER 

The popular prejudice against advertising in any and every 
phase is undoubtedly based upon its expression in the worst 
forms, which are at the same time the most striking. Millions 
of dollars are spent yearly on printer's ink, and since a very large 
proportion of this capital goes into words and colors that are 
not only shocking to the eye, but definitely harmful to the read- 
ing and seeing public, there is unquestionably a field for serious 
work in promoting sales along legitimate lines, in a way which is 
progressive and actually instructive to the buyer. That this 
field is practically unexplored by an intelligent, well-educated class 
of persons, I am certain. As a manufacturer of paints, I am 
thoroughly interested in all propositions for increasing my busi- 
ness. I am visited daily, almost hourly, by advertising agents 
who wish to "manage my campaign." I prefer to direct my own 
warfare, but I need able, intelligent assistants who will study my 
interests in presenting my paint to the public. Just here, I 
believe, a great opportunity is offered to the college-bred woman 
who does not care for teaching. In twelve years I have had just 
one application from a woman for this class of work. At least 
five hundred applications come every year for clerical work, even 
typewriting and duplicating. 

Perhaps I can best explain the nature of this advertising, the nec- 
essary qualifications, and the benefit to be gained, by giving a brief 
sketch of the work of my single applicant, who, by the way, was the 
subject of adverse circumstances and hardly a fair example. 

Miss was a young woman about twenty-seven, of only 

average intelligence and without a decided bent in any direction. 

168 



BUSINESS 169 

She was in ill-health and needed something to do, — anything 
would answer. I decided to try her in the^ sales department of 
my white lead factory, and gave her a certain amount of adver- 
tising. I explained to her the three classes of customers with 
whom she must deal, — house painters, dealers, and consumers, 
covering every social class from the lowest to the highest. It 
was her duty to interest these people in any way she might choose. 

Her first step was to go into my factory and study her product. 
An enthusiastic student of chemistry, she found the analyses 
a delight. She then read all she could find on the practical side 
of the paint question. 

Her next move was to write letters to the painters on her trade 
list. She explained the merits of her process of grinding white 
lead, the value of inert pigments in resisting chemical action. 
Her painters did not respond except occasionally to ask whether 
this white lead could be thinned with fish oil without spoiling 
a job and whether she had anything cheaper to offer. These 
first replies put her in touch with her customers, and from that 
time the process of development was interesting. The whole 
scheme was reduced to a psychological basis in which she studied 
her different types, property owners, painters, dealers, preparing 
the reading matter and colors which would appeal to each. It 
was her privilege to place orders for such circular matter and 
color cards as she wished, choosing paper stock, colors of ink, 
styles of type, etc., arranging the chips on color cards according 
to her own taste. She composed all text and directed her of- 
fice corps as to the class of trade which should receive each form. 
The number and nature of replies determined the value of her 
work, and by quickly disclosing any flaws furnished the only 
training necessary to enable her to continue her work with in- 
creasing success. 

By following her own schemes in a thoroughly systematic way, 
she made herself valuable to me. At her own suggestion she 
started with a salary of $7 a week, giving only a portion of her 
time. In less than three years she has advanced to $20. She 
refused a further increase, preferring less work. 

In a general way, I might say that this class of work, if efficient, 
demands a generous remuneration for the time and energy ex- 



170 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

pended. The manufacturer becomes more dependent upon his 
advertising agent than upon his salesmen. In any line he can 
well afford to pay 10 per cent, of the business produced. The 
majority allow from 12j^2 to 15 per cent. A salary of $1,000 is 
therefore due for every $8,000 created. Advertising agencies 
pay salaries ranging from $25 a week up for classified work, 
such as designing, drawing, composing, but the proprietors of 
these agencies reap large profits, which must be paid either by 
the manufacturer or by his customer. 

Granted that conviction in the mind of the seller plays an im- 
portant part in the sale of a product and that a thorough knowl- 
edge of the product is an advantage to the advertiser, it stands 
to reason that my own agent can serve me better than the man who 
is promoting paint, wall paper, soap, breakfast foods, shoe polish, 
motor cars, and a score of other commodities at the same time. 
Moreover, the agency never sees the direct results of its work 
and cannot maintain an equal interest with the one directly re- 
sponsible. That I am voicing the opinion of many manufacturers, 
I know from personal conversation. My friend, Mr. W., of the 

Varnish Works, has been looking in vain for a clever young 

woman who can assume the responsibility of his sales department. 
The small State of Connecticut has 2,023 manufacturing con- 
cerns. After examining the list, I am satisfied that 50 per cent, 
of these concerns are in a position to employ an advertising 
manager. This would furnish positions for more than 1,000 in 
a single State. If college women would undertake the work, I 
believe the benefit to business and to the buying public would be 
a revelation. 



ADVERTISING FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF AN 
ADVERTISING MANAGER 

For over five years I have been in charge of the advertising 
of a large manufacturing company. I undertook the work with- 
out previous experience and with no special training for it. The 
circumstances leading to it were as follows: — 

I was a high-school teacher for ten years, and during the last 



BUSINESS 171 

year of my teaching was asked by a friend, a wholesale manu- 
facturer and jobber who was much interested in advertising and 
a firm believer in it, to get out for him a quarterly trade paper. 
My work on the paper under his tutelage was my onfy training 
for the profession. As he is a man of keen advertising sense, a 
relentless critic, the school was a good one. 

When the company now employing me lost their advertising 
man, my tutor, without my knowledge, interested them in me 
through an article I had written for his paper. When the sub- 
ject was first broached, I refused to consider it. I enjoyed teach- 
ing, and was loath to give up the leisure it afforded for the pecu- 
niary advantages of a business life. Besides, I had very grave 
doubts as to my ability to fill the position. My objections 
finally gave way, and I agreed to go, my work to be the writing 
of their catalogues and booklets, the publicity advertising being 
taken care of, at that time, by an outside agent. This latter 
arrangement did not prove altogether satisfactory, however, 
and it was not very long before I found myself in charge of that 
also. It was simply a case of working into the position, — a thing 
that any one with sufficient intelligence, will, tact, and knowledge 
of people and things, could do. 

To be sure, I had had several years of experience in business 
before I began to teach, so that I already had some knowledge 
of salesmanship and business principles. I was fortunately 
familiar, too, as a result of my experience in teaching, with some 
of the apparatus made by the company, and was able, without 
much difficulty, to write up many of their products. Yet there 
was much, very much to learn, and the end is not yet. 

The advertising field is a comparatively new one for women, 
and offers extraordinary opportunities to one able to grasp them. 
There are a number of women who have been remarkably suc- 
cessful. All of them have, I believe, gained their experience 
working up from humbler positions, which enabled them to get 
a grasp of the business in its various details. General principles 
of advertising can be learned from books, and there are several 
good advertising text-books, but each and every business to 
which one would seek to apply the principles must be made the 
subject of exhaustive study. The woman who succeeds must 



172 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

learn the business and its selling problems, and must seek their 
solution. She must study the buying public, and know how 
to make her appeal to them. She must have all the numberless 
ways of making this appeal, which will necessitate a knowledge 
of printing and paper and processes of engraving and the thou- 
sand and one ways of making display. She must know about 
the advertising mediums and their circulation and their readers. 
In short, she must know something of everything, and well-nigh 
everything about the particular things she is to exploit. Adver- 
tising is salesmanship, * and really covers everything done to sell 
goods, including the sign over the door, stationery, labels, boxes, 
no less than catalogues, booklets, circulars, and space in maga- 
zines, papers, and programs. Its scope is almost unlimited. To 
one who has the power to become a success the rewards may be 
great. 

The college woman who would take up this work will find that 

*The following extract from a letter written by an advertising agency in Massa- 
chusetts bears out the above statement: — 

"Success in any line of advertising endeavor, outside of the mere office routine 
of stenography and book-keeping, depends almost entirely upon the worker's 
appreciation of the principles underlying the sale of merchandise. Mere clever 
writing will never make a man or woman a success in the advertising world, 
either as regards the advertising of a retail store or in connection with work in 
the office of a manufacturing plant or advertising agency, where the work is 
really the development of a sales-producing plan. 

"Personally, I know of few women successful along these lines, although many 
are employed in the routine work of advertising offices. I know of several women 
in New York apparently very successful in their advertising work, but I believe 
that the average woman will not succeed unless her training has been such as to 
instill in her mind a thorough comprehension of the commercial purpose of ad- 
vertising. 

" I should say that a writer of good advertising copy, in an advertising agency 
in New York, Boston, or Chicago, — if she was competent to put this selling force 
into her work, — would command from $25 a week up. 

"Many women are making a success in the designing of advertising illustrations, 
especially for engraving houses that make a specialty of illustrations of garments 
for women's wear. Advertising illustrating is not the easiest thing in the world, 
but I believe that in it lies the best field for a woman's endeavor in the advertis- 
ing business. If she has the ability to grasp the selling idea that the advertising 
manager or agent desires expressed in the illustration or design, the rest is a matter 
of perfecting herself, preferably of course with an art school course, as an artist 
or designer." See page 267.— Ed. 



BUSINESS 173 

it is a difficult thing to get started in. Unless one has exceptional 
ability or can make a spectacular play at the outset to focus 
attention, it will be necessary to serve an apprenticeship, long or 
short according to circumstances, and the salary at the beginning 
is quite apt to be meagre. She will be in a position where she is 
brought into direct competition with men, and they will have 
many advantages over her. 

If I were starting out now to take up this work, I should en- 
deavor to get a position with an advertising agency or in the ad- 
vertising department of a large business. There I should hope 
to gain the experience that would enable me to take charge of the 
advertising of a small business where I might be able to make 
good. 



COLLEGE GIRLS IN DEPARTMENT STORES 

GERTRUDE L. MARVIN 

Wellesley Fellow, Research Department, Women's Educational and Industrial 

Union 

The organization of responsibility in a large dry -goods store may 
be classified under four general headings: 1. Buying; 2. Store 
Management; 3. Advertising; 4. Records. A general manager or 
merchandise man, his assistant, a corps of buyers trained by years 
of store experience, and their assistants attend to the buying. 
The responsibility of these experts is extensive. They must select 
the goods early for their especial department, buying shrewdly 
and economically, gauging with almost prophetic foresight which 
styles will take with the public, and in what quantity to order. 
The goods ordered, their responsibility has only begun, for now 
they must sell their stock. They must, in consultation with 
the window trimmer, assemble the goods which shall make an 
effective display both in artistic effect and money values. The 
Organization of the department, too, falls to them, the personnel 
of the sales force, — whether there shall be a large number of in- 
experienced young girls at the minimum salary or a smaller 
number of more experienced and capable women, commanding 



174 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

several more dollars per week. The arrangement, display, and 
convenient storing of goods, the appearance and atmosphere of 
the department, — all these things are under the direct control 
of the buyers. Thus the buyer is practically an independent 
merchant. He is charged by the firm for floor space, heat, light, 
elevator service, and salaries of salesgirls, as well as cost of all 
goods bought. His receipts must cover these expenses with the 
margin of profit demanded by the firm. He has the anxiety and 
responsibility of the small merchant who realizes that a couple of 
rainy Mondays or a late spring and poor trade will mean that he 
must go under. 

Usually a member of the firm or some highly paid superintend- 
ent is store manager, and he himself, or, in the largest firms, one 
of his subordinates, is responsible for the care of the property. 
This housekeeper-on-a-large-scale supervises the purchasing of 
all equipment, such as show-cases and office fixtures, plans and 
directs improvements and enlargements, and is responsible 
through his subordinates for the marshalling and control of the 
corps of scrub-women, window-cleaners, elevator boys, engineers, 
porters, and the like. Cleanliness, comfortable heating and 
lighting, adequate elevator service, convenient methods of getting 
about the store, are some of his responsibilities. He is also 
charged with the protection of the store against shop-lifters. 

The working force is supplied by the superintendent of em- 
ployees, who engages every employee in the house, except his 
superiors. His office is likely to be on the first floor, the very 
centre of activities. Here, especially just before the big sales, one 
can usually see a long, straggling line of applicants for lower- 
grade positions. It is the duty of the superintendent or of his 
subordinates to recognize in this unsorted, unlabelled mass of 
humanity the good material, to sift it out, and with a clear eye 
to discern the individual possibilities as each applicant files into 
the little sanctum. The superintendent who can recognize the 
square pegs and fit them into the square holes, putting the 
round pegs into the round holes with equal skill, contributes 
in large measure to the success of the store. This must be done 
by wise transfers and promotion, as well as by judicious selection 
in the first place. An efficient sales force is a powerful instrument, 



BUSINESS 175 

and if a girl who is making a failure of the glove counter can 
be transferred to successful work at the men's shirt counter or up 
in the book department, each with its different classes of patrons 
and varying demands on the clerk, it is a triumph for the super- 
intendent and so much added to the efficiency of the force. 

The discipline of the entire force is in charge of this superin- 
tendent, but he delegates it to officials in the various departments, 
who are thus responsible to him for the discipline of the porters, 
cleaners, accountants, and the like, though they are independent 
of him in other respects. The sales force, for instance, is di- 
rectly in charge of the floor manager, or "floor- walker." The 
average shopper may look upon the tall gentleman in a frock coat 
as a guide stationed in the aisles for her convenience, but he is 
much more than that. The discipline of the sales force, their 
neatness of appearance, their quiet behavior, and the pleasing 
atmosphere of alert, interested attention to the customer's wants, 
which one finds in many stores, are responsibilities of the floor- 
walkers. Besides, they must exercise watchfulness and judgment 
in maintaining the elaborate system that holds any large store 
together, sign return checks and exchange goods checks. They 
must recognize credit customers who have forgotten their coin 
of identification, and settle any difficulty that may arise between 
shopper and salesgirl. The floor- walker needs intelligence, dig- 
nity of bearing, and personality, not only for the control of the 
sales force, — his responsibility to the superintendent of employees, 
— but also for manipulation of system and for dealing with the 
public. 

A branch of the work closely allied to the actual selling, and 
bearing the same relation to the superintendent of employees 
and buyers, is the alteration department. It has advanced 
rapidly in importance with the increasing popularity and perfect- 
ing of ready-made garments. One store, with a total sales force 
of 600 to 700, employs a corps of about 60 fitters and pressers, 
which runs up to 80 when, in the busy season, 100 to 120 finished 
suits are turned out per day. There is most intricate detail and 
system to be kept working smoothly. Extra fitters must be 
ready at a moment's notice all day long, as the salesgirls tele- 
phone up that a sale is made and they need a fitter at once. 



176 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

Then the complicated schedule of basted fittings, second fittings* 
and final fittings must be made to meet the customer's con- 
venience and to dovetail into a calendar already crowded for 
days ahead. The work must be pushed through. In the tense 
atmosphere of whirring machines and weary nerves, the head 
of the workroom must stand a firm, dominating influence, hold- 
ing the moods of the workers and the speed at which they 
operate under her control, winning their respect and trust, so 
that, when the need comes and the rush is keenest, she can 
encourage them to their highest capacity instead of having 
them at the crucial moment strike, sullen and tearful, on her 
hands. 

A work which is closely allied to all these branches, but espe- 
cially to that of the superintendent of employees, is primarily 
social and educational. In only one of our stores is there a 
welfare department, but in another a saleswoman with years of 
experience and a wide acquaintance among the employees is rec- 
ognized by the firm as leader in welfare activities. The essen- 
tial quality for such work is a broad sense of justice, which can 
see both sides of a situation or of a misunderstanding, and deal 
with them fairly, for the welfare manager must be an interpreter, 
an adjuster. She must win the confidence and respect of both 
sides, and then represent them to each other, justifying the em- 
ployees to the firm and the firm to the employees, using her in- 
fluence on either side when she sees injustice or misunderstanding. 
Further than that, she has an opportunity for knowing the em- 
ployees individually, for befriending and advising them, which, 
combined with a knowledge of store conditions, makes her of real 
social value. 

The goods bought and displayed and the sales force organized 
and standing ready to sell it, there comes next a most important 
element in mercantile success, — getting the public to come and 
buy. Modern advertising for a large firm may be subdivided into 
newspaper advertising, store decoration, and window trimming. 
The newspaper end includes writing original, readable advertise- 
ments, sketching figures and decorative designs, selecting the 
desirable papers and making contracts with them, deciding when 
to take a full page and when a half -column. Store decoration 



BUSINESS 177 

involves featuring the sales, which are continually being held on 
various pretexts, — anniversary sale, stock-taking sale, mid- 
summer sale, mid-month sale, and so on. Finally there is the 
window trimming, which is constantly developing as a fine art. 
First, it is necessary to study the class of patrons to whom the 
store caters, and decide whether a gaudy or a more artistic dis- 
play will make an appeal, whether an array of opera gowns and 
wraps or a window full of modest $3.50 and $5 wash gowns — 
machine-made dresses — will actually bring more customers into 
the store. The general scheme decided, there remains the as- 
sembling and arranging of the goods; and here, they say, is where 
the art lies, for on being able to see the window vividly in his 
mind's eye, and pick out from the heterogeneous mass of stock 
just the tones and shapes and styles which are going to blend into 
an effective unified whole, — on this the entire success of the win- 
dow depends. 

The direct service to the public, of buying, selling, and adver- 
tising being organized, there still remains a large department of 
work. High above the street in these stores, away from the noise 
and confusion of the lower floors, the public scarcely conscious 
of their existence, are scores of girls who form one of the most 
vital parts of this huge machinery, — the auditing and statistical 
forces. In one department they check up every sale slip of 
each salesgirl every day and credit her name in the records with 
the total amount. Another department handles the enormous 
mail from credit accounts, adding to the customers' bills from 
day to day on their billing-machines, sending out bills, receipts, 
and duns, according to carefully planned system. Here are the 
departments which keep the stock books, recording what stock 
comes in and is given out to the various departments; here all the 
invoices and bills of lading must be checked and listed, all the 
cashiers' lists verified, and the money turned in audited each day; 
all the time cards of the hundreds of employees, on which they 
stamp by an automatic device the hour and minute of arriving 
and leaving, must be inspected, and the pay envelopes made out 
accordingly, with deductions for lateness and absence. All this 
work, planned by experts, is carried out by a large force of young, 
untrained girls, who, living at home, are able to give their time 



178 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

for the very low salaries, $3 to $5, offered in these departments. 
Positions as heads of these departments are difficult, because, as 
one superintendent said, it is no sinecure to take such material 
and manipulate it into an efficient, well-organized body, which 
turns out rapidly and at the same time accurately the immense 
volume of monotonous work. 

Such is the general scheme of organization in a large store. It 
will be seen that the tendency is to careful analysis and subdi- 
vision of the work, and then specialization on that line. As these 
stores enlarge in scope and size, as department after department 
is added, and building after building is annexed, the amount of 
responsibility to be delegated grows and the number of executive 
positions open to capable men and women increases. Propor- 
tionally to the rank and file, there are a large number of leader- 
ship positions. In one store, for instance, there is one executive 
to every ten in the rank and file, but this is an unusually high 
percentage. 

The question which especially interests us is how much this 
leadership is being won by women, how much more women 
could win. In the 6 stores investigated they are actually hold- 
ing positions in 3 of the 4 main divisions of responsibility. 
But the variety of positions so held is limited. For instance, 
there are more women buying than in all the other lines put to- 
gether: 67 per cent, of the responsible positions held by women 
are held by buyers. Women have a natural advantage for this 
kind of work in their instinctive sense of style, color, value, and 
good form. Furthermore, the bulk of department store mer- 
chandise is made for women and bought by women, who not 
only do their own shopping, but the household purchasing as 
well. Naturally, a woman understands the habits of thought, 
tendencies, and especially the vulnerable points of her own sex, 
better than a man, and ought to be able to cater to their wants 
more successfully. More than this, she has a temperamental 
resourcefulness in devising little expedients and improvements, 
which men may gain only by much effort, if at all. Heretofore 
the successful man buyer has often been the one who has tactfully 
secured the co-operation of his saleswomen, consulting with them, 
and using their experience and instinctive sense to recognize "good 



BUSINESS 179 

styles," the popular fancies, desires, and prejudices, especially of 
women customers. The women who have developed, in addition 
to their hereditary capacity for knowing "good styles," that com- 
bination of qualities which they mysteriously call "trading in- 
stinct," have won an advantage over men buyers, and are holding 
the important positions to-day. This trading instinct is not 
haggling, but knowledge of how and where to get, at lowest 
prices and in the best quality, the things it has been decided the 
public is going to want. It is establishing a reputation among 
wholesale travelling men for knowing one's line, for meaning 
what one says, and for straightforward business dealings. It is 
shrewdness in watching the market and discerning tendencies in 
advance, both as they affect the public pocket and the expenses 
of one's own line of business. 

In the management of the store very few women are holding 
positions as floor managers, 4 out of a total of 101 in the six 
stores. A conflict of opinion as to woman's usefulness here is 
evident. There is said to be prejudice on the part of the sales 
force against recognizing the authority of a woman as discipli- 
narian and executive over them. There is also the prejudice of the 
public, especially women shoppers, against accepting the deci- 
sions of a woman. It is said that, when there is any trouble, the 
shoppers want a man to come and straighten it out. One super- 
intendent has tried women as floor managers, and says that he is 
convinced that they are not equal to the position. On the other 
hand, in a store in the same block the superintendent of employees 
points to a woman floor manager in one of the busiest depart- 
ments, and says that she is as efficient as any man in the house. 

Among the heads of workrooms in these stores, four are women, 
but here, again, there is a conflict of opinion as to woman's fitness. 

Although scattered through 3 of the divisions of responsibil- 
ity, it will be observed that women are actually holding only 
4 different kinds of .positions, and a comparatively small num- 
ber at that. It is a gratifying thought that these 37 women 
are giving satisfaction and have proved their adequacy to posi- 
tions which a few years ago would have been considered quite 
beyond their reach. 

When we come to the question of how much more responsi- 



180 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

bility women are capable of bearing than they have already as- 
sumed, the situation is complicated by the conflicting opinions 
of the superintendents of employees interviewed. In store man- 
agement, women are found only as floor superintendents and heads 
of alteration departments. They do not have charge of the plant, 
— a duty which is essentially housekeeping on a large scale. It 
requires the manipulation of unskilled workers, close attention to 
detail, keen observation of every corner, and the perpetual struggle 
against dirt for which the executive woman housekeeper in the 
large hotels draws so high a salary. Surely, women ought to be 
able to step into this field and take the responsibility with an 
assurance bred of the usage of generations as keeper of the keys. 

No one of the superintendents of employees thought that a 
woman could fill his position. All felt that it required a knowl- 
edge of human nature and ability to size people up, a dignity and 
authority of presence which women lack. Yet one superintendent 
told of a store in another city where he was once employed as 
floor manager in which the unusually efficient superintendent of 
employees was a woman. There as her subordinate he recog- 
nized her authority and admitted her great business capacity, 
yet he justifies his opinion that women are inadequate for such 
a position by saying that he considers her a very rare woman, 
and — "there practically are no more like her!" 

It is curious that no women are in the advertising department, 
though individual women have made fortunes by their unique 
and clever ideas in this line. On consideration is there not an 
analogy between advertising and buying? Both require strong 
individuality, sense of form, good taste, and the power of divin- 
ing what will appeal to the public, the one in a flash perhaps, 
and the other by careful planning. Would not the same qualities 
which make women such successful buyers come into play in 
advertising? And yet, with the exception of one girl who 
sketches figures for newspaper cuts under direction, there are no 
women in the advertising departments of the six stores. 

It will be observed that in the following table one or more em- 
ployers assert that women are incapable of holding positions at 
that very time held by women in other stores. 



BUSINESS 



181 



Opinions given in 6 stores as to capacity of women fof holding responsible 
positions. The numerals signify the number of stores. 









«, 


















a 
"S3 


2 






*aj tri 


4 




a 


o S3 

* S 
o « 

«a 


II 

0Q O 


I 

< 


03 

1 
pq 


(D 

60 

fa a 


•si 

go. 
l8-S 




Is 

<u o 

W2 


Women are holding . 


- 


- 


- 


- 


5 


2 


2 


4 


Could hold . . . 


- 


- 


" 


2 


- 


- 


1 


1 


Could not hold . . 


6 


6 


6 


4 


1 


4 


3 


1 



There are only three classes of positions which all seem agreed 
are closed to women, — as members of the firm or of the board of 
managers, and as superintendent of employees. On analyzing 
the reasons given by these men for doubting woman's fitness for 
carrying responsibility, they seem to be based on a certain hesi- 
tancy to grant woman new fields of industry. She can keep house 
in her own home or even in a large hotel excellently, but not in a 
store. She can do very clever advertising individually, but can- 
not be intrusted with the advertising of a large concern. These 
superintendents mentioned certain specific lacks among women, 
however, which are both interesting and suggestive: lack of tact 
in managing people; lack of authority and prestige, especially 
with other women, both customers and employees; lack of justice 
in keeping a broad, fair point of view; no breadth of mental 
ability to grasp a principle or policy in the large, apply it and carry 
it forward independently; lack of confidence on the part of the 
employer, making it difficult for her to attain responsible sub- 
ordinate positions, which would give her the requisite experi- 
ence and judgment; physical incapacity for the wearing strain 
of every-day routine and the perpetual responsibility of such posi- 
tions; lack of power to carry responsibility, to throw off at the 
end of the day all thought of care and worry and forget it until 
the next day's work begins. 

These opinions are interesting, and we must recognize a certain 



182 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

amount of truth in them, and yet each of those thirty-seven women 
who are holding positions is disproving some of the lacks which 
are here claimed for women in general. Moreover, the fact 
that opinions vary so widely as to the capacity of women for 
holding any responsibility such as buyer, would indicate that 
these negative opinions are in some part due to prejudice and con- 
servatism, and that the personal equation enters very largely into 
the superintendents' decisions. 

Although the opening wedge has been made into this field and 
although its possibilities are steadily increasing as woman's 
ability proves itself, beating down prejudice and opposition, 
there must still remain in many minds questions as to the desira- 
bility of such employment for a life-work. The length of train- 
ing required and the conditions of labor during what may be called 
the apprenticeship, should influence our opinion of department 
stores as an opportunity for college women. 

Various positions are open to women at the start, depending on 
the kind of position for which they aim. For heads of the statis- 
tical and record departments, no matter what technical training 
and facility with figures they may have, actual experience in the 
various sorts of clerical work is essential as giving a close knowl- 
edge of conditions and methods of work. For floor managers, 
buyers, and executives in control of the store and employees, 
experience in selling is most necessary. By direct contact with the 
public and in handling stock, by personally knowing what a sales- 
person can or cannot achieve, they attain an authority in their 
position and a surety of control which nothing else quite gives. 

The general conditions of work are a nine-hour day, with two 
weeks' paid vacation and Saturday afternoons for the three summer 
months. The salaries range from $6 up to $10 or $12. In some 
stores, commissions are paid on all sales over a specified amount, 
and a few exceptionally clever salesgirls are able to make $20 and 
$25 a week, running as high as $45 during the Christmas week or 
in the big bargain sales. 

The length of experience necessary for promotion varies from 
six months to several years. The steps of promotion are gradual. 
For a salesgirl the first step up would be as head of stock. This 
involves superintending the girls at her counter, and being re- 



BUSINESS 183 

sponsible for condition of the stock on her shelves, seeing that it is 
neatly put away at night and that it is attractively displayed in the 
show-cases and on the shelves. She must also keep close count of 
stock, and report to her buyer all articles that are running low. The 
careful and efficient head of stock is usually promoted to assistant 
buyer when there is a vacancy, and there she may stay indefi- 
nitely until old age overtakes her, unless she manifests individual 
ability to go ahead and take responsibility on her own initiative. 
The cases of 23 women executives interviewed are interesting 
and suggestive. We find that every one had worked her way 
up, apparently without any pull, through sheer effort and in- 
dividual ability. Over half began to work as cash or bundle 
girls at sixteen years of age or under. Only 11 of these women 
went to high school, and of the other 12, 2 did not finish 
grammar school. In spite of their extreme youth those who 
began as cash-girls were almost at once promoted to selling, but 
the next interval before promotion to head of stock or assistant 
buyer varied from six months to ten years. In the matter of 
training, 10 began to work in some shop either out in the coun- 
try or in a small town, where they received the close supervision 
of the head men, and where they also had the advantage of taking 
part in the running of a store small enough to permit them to 
understand and to perceive the necessities of the business. These 
women, rising to their present important positions, many of them, 
without the advantages of a thorough education, must mani- 
festly be women of unusual ability — of genius in their line. They 
suggest a question as to whether many women of lesser talent 
could not, with the advantage of better early training and 
education, win the high positions beside these few pioneers. 
College has not yet received general recognition as a practical, 
helpful training for business life. For this reason the firms are 
unwilling to make any better offer to a young college graduate 
than to any other girl. She must realize that, as far as business 
experience goes, she has merely lost the four years spent in col- 
lege which another girl will have spent in the store, learning the 
system, and accustoming herself to business methods, punctuality, 
accuracy, etc., and that, therefore, the non-college girl is actually 
four years ahead of her. It is for the college girl to prove the value 



184 



VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



of her college investment by going in four years late, but with 
the added training and mental acumen which shall enable her to 
catch up and surpass in the first decade. Not every college girl 
can do this, however, any more than all non-college girls can. It 
is not a matter of college or non-college: it seems to be a ques- 
tion of individual energy and enthusiasm. But all other things 
being equal, given a college graduate with a practical head and 
ready understanding, with no tendency to conceit over her four 
academic years, and it does seem that she ought to prove the value 
of her training in logical thinking, in fair-mindedness in dealing 
with people, and that in reasonably few years. 

As for the life, once success is attained, it has decided attrac- 
tions. In the matter of salaries it is difficult to get information, 
as firms are very reluctant to quote salaries paid : — 





Store 


Minimum 


Maximum 


Head-buyer 


A 


$5,000 


$50,000 


Buyer 


A 


1,820 


6,500 




B 


2,000 


3,500 




E 


5,000 average 






F 


1,500 


2,500 


Head advertiser 


A 


2,000 


15,000 




B 


2,000 






C 


1,500 


10,000 




E 


2,600 






F 


1,500 


10,000 


Window trimmer, decorator, 








etc. 


A 


1,300 


2,600 




B 


780 


2,600 


Head office forces 


B 


2,000 






C 


over 3,000 






E 


5,000 




Head clerical departments. 


A 


936 


1,800 




C 


1,500 


2,000 




E 




2,600 


Floor manager 


A 


780 


1,820 




B 


1,040 


1,300 




C 


1,040 


1,300 




E 


780 


15,600 


Head workrooms 


A 


780 


1,300 




C 


1,040 





BUSINESS 185 

The writer knows personally of two buyers in Boston, one of 
whom receives $4,000 salary and an annual trip to Europe, the 
other over $6,500. From these figures it is fair to conclude that 
women are receiving high salaries as buyers. It has, however, 
been impossible to get data showing whether women are paid 
lower salaries or the same as men for the same work, because 
every buyer has his own individual value, and it is that which 
regulates his salary rather than the trade or firm or department for 
which he happens to be buying. In this connection it is interest- 
ing to note that, of the twenty-one women interviewed, all were 
entirely self-supporting, and all but two were supporting at least 
one other. And yet employers, when charged with holding women 
down to lower wages than they give men for the same work, offer 
the excuse that the men have families to support, while the women 
have only themselves. 

The different departments demand different duties of their 
heads, but all involve meeting successful and interesting people 
on an equal footing, and, for the buyer, frequent trips to New 
York, if not to Europe, and entire independence as to conditions 
of work, — they may be as punctilious in observance of store hours 
or as regardless as they desire, provided they get the results. 
Coupled with these more showy attractions is a graver, more 
serious call to the work, — the opportunity for social effort among 
the employees, unorganized and scattered, many of them under- 
paid, — quite as effectual constructive social activity as in many 
more recognized forms of benevolent work. 

Women are at present holding 71 per cent, of the positions in the 
rank and file in these six department stores, but of the respon- 
sible and executive only 16 per cent. A few years ago it was prob- 
ably the same large proportion of subordinate and per cent, of 
executives. One of our Boston buyers said she was one of Wana- 
maker's first women buyers, and was actually the first woman to 
cross the ocean for him, which indicates how recent is this giving 
women the responsibility. 

Since, then, women have broken into these lines so recently and 
have made, relatively speaking, such success of it, we can certainly 
feel, without making any concrete prophecies for the future, that 
her development in these lines is progressing rapidly and surely. 



186 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



BUYING FOR COLLEGE WOMEN 

RALPH P. ALBERTSON 

Superintendent of Employees, William Filene's Sons Company 

The specialization of work in the retail dry-goods business 
has created some positions which carry with them high salaries, 
and which, it has been discovered, can be filled as well by women 
as by men, if not better. The most highly paid line of work that 
is open to any considerable number of women is buying. This 
requires knowledge of merchandise, knowledge of the demand, — 
which is gained only by department store experience, — knowledge 
of the market and the sources of supply, taste, executive ability, 
and courage tempered with judgment. The number of women 
doing this work is rapidly increasing. Most of them have had 
only a grammar school education. Their salaries go above 
$10,000 in some instances, while $4,000 or $5,000 is not at all 
unusual. 

The apprenticeship, however, is of such a nature that the posi- 
tion of buyer is ordinarily unattractive to a college woman. To 
become thoroughly familiar with the goods and the store life and 
methods, it is necessary for her to have such an experience in 
handling and manipulating the stock and the actual selling of it 
to customers as can be obtained only through the humbler posi- 
tions. So little experimenting has been done with college women 
in this line that it is difficult to say just how long this apprentice- 
ship must be. I have stated two years as a maximum length of 
time which a college woman must spend as a saleswoman before she 
can be given a position as assistant buyer. In many cases this 
doubtless can be reduced to one year; in one case we reduced 
it to three months; in another case a woman who had had some 
business experience in other lines since leaving college was made 
an assistant buyer without any apprenticeship in our business. 

As to the natural qualifications, the following are essential : — 

1. A strong body. 

2. Capacity for hard work. 



BUSINESS 187 

3. A high degree of mental energy. 

4. Taste. 

5. Executive qualities; i.e., initiative, concentration, progres- 
siveness, responsibility. 

While I have used the word "essential" above, it is true that 
some women not particularly strong in some of these qualifications 
have made a success of this work. 

The demand for good buyers is great. I doubt if there is another 
field in which the salaries are anything like as good as they are 
in this, where there are so many opportunities and where employers 
have so much difficulty in supplying their needs. 

The training for buyership has hitherto been almost altogether 
practical; that is, it has been a matter of experience. Buyers have 
not been intentionally trained at all. In fact, they have been 
created by the natural and more or less accidental selection of the 
"likeliest" saleswomen, who are given responsibilities and buying 
opportunities as a "trying-out." This process is not satisfactory 
to the more intelligent and far-sighted men in the business, and 
therefore they have begun to discover and establish a theory of 
buying, and to reach out after college-bred people. It is safe 
to assume, therefore, that in a very short time a number of de- 
partment stores will be systematically teaching and training 
candidates for buyerships by a new method, — a combination of 
theory and practice. 

The chief obstacle that stands in the way of the entrance of 
college women upon this line of work is the necessarily small pay 
in beginning. They are worth to the department store at the 
commencement only what they can earn in competition with 
other saleswomen, and they can seldom earn as much at the start 
as the ordinary saleswoman who is experienced in the business. 
When, therefore, they are offered $10 per week or less, to begin 
with, they face an immediate financial sacrifice, as they can earn 
more ordinarily in other lines. The nature of this comparison 
changes at once, however, as the openings for advancement in 
the department store are greater and more quickly reached than 
in almost any other field. It is necessary for the college woman 
in taking this step to be willing to make some investment in 
her own future, just as the managers of department stores are 



188 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

discovering that it is necessary for them to make some investment 
in college women in order to develop the class of buyers that are 
needed. 

On the whole, I should say that only a small percentage of 
college women are naturally adapted to successful department 
store work, but for those who are this work offers in opportunity 
and salary very great inducements. The small salary at the 
start is so overwhelmingly offset by the larger salary that follows 
that it should never be permitted to stand in the way, and, now 
that institutions are offering definite training for buyerships, 
there ought to be an enthusiastic response to the offer on the 
part of a large number of college women who wish to be inde- 
pendent, and who wish to be in a slight measure pioneers. 



BANKING AND BANK WORK FOR WOMEN 
ELEANOR B. RICHARDSON 

With the Second National Bank of Saginaw, Michigan 

That women not only make successful bank clerks, but are 
able to fill official positions to equal advantage, is evidenced by 
the large number of women bank presidents, cashiers, and as- 
sistant cashiers that are listed in the banking directories. In 
fact, there are several banks in the United States managed and 
conducted entirely by women, and it is noticeable that their state- 
ments compare favorably with those of their competitors. 

There are many reasons why women are especially well qualified 
to hold positions with financial institutions, one of which probably 
is that the work in such places consists of a mass of detail work, 
and, if we are to believe a certain self-appointed masculine au- 
thority, the feminine brain surpasses the masculine only when 
applied to such duties. A well-known woman banker (cashier 
of a large national bank in the West) declares that women make 
excellent bankers because of their intuitive powers, which enable 
them to judge conditions and men accurately and quickly. Add 
to this qualification another well-known characteristic of the 



BUSINESS 189* 

feminine nature, — tact, combined with an innate strength of 
character that makes a woman, in the majority of cases, proof 
against a temptation to be dishonest, — and you have some of the 
general reasons for the success attained by women in the field 
of banking. But a girl, either with or without a college course, 
must not expect to enter a bank and straightway become an 
official. For, as every banker will tell you, there is no royal 
road to success here any more than in any other line of work, and 
almost invariably one must begin at the bottom and climb up very 
slowly. 

To a young woman desirous of obtaining a position in a bank a 
knowledge of stenography is a great help, as is also an acquaintance 
with one or more foreign languages, because, as a rule, the place 
most frequently open to women is that of stenographer. Once 
a member of the clerical force of a bank, however, there are a 
number of other capacities in which women are admirably fitted 
to serve, as tellers, book-keepers, draft clerks, and managers of 
various general departments. Chief among such positions is that 
of manager of a woman's department. Such a position is prob- 
ably the pleasantest that a woman can hold, but it is no sinecure,, 
as the duties involved necessitate considerable knowledge not 
only of finance, but of human nature. Here one must meet and 
advise the feminine customers of the bank on all manner of topics, 
and the utmost degree of tact is required to handle these cus- 
tomers happily. The following outline of a day's duties per- 
formed by one woman in such a position is quoted from a booklet 
called "The Bank Lady," issued by a large trust company in 
the North-west, which evidently considers "The Bank Lady" one 
of its most valuable assets: — 

"Before this task was finished, a woman who had just fallen 
heir to a large sum through the settlement of an estate was waiting 
for a patient tutoring about financial mysteries such as no mere 
man could give, as he seems quite incapable of understanding the 
average woman's views of business. The different advantages 
and rates of interest of bonds, mortgages, special certificates, and 
other things, were explained before the customer was passed on 
to the higher officials for final decision. 

" When banking hours were done, there was an invalid patron 



190 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

to visit with information about her affairs. That call was followed 
by an appointment with a wealthy stranger who wished to have 
a money talk with the Bank Lady. . . . Months and years of days 
like this have marvellously trained the Bank Lady's brain and 
heart. Her knowledge, patience, tact, and sympathy are potent 
to do away with difficulties big and little. While money troubles, 
with all their manifold complications, have no terror for her, yet 
she understands well the attitude of the feminine mind unfamiliar 
with these things." 

As to the salaries paid, it is difficult to speak with certainty, 
as salaries here, as in other lines of work, vary in different parts 
of the country, and in addition depend to a great extent upon the 
liberality of the governing board of directors. As a result of 
several years of careful observation, however, I feel justified in 
saying that a girl who enters a bank immediately after her gradua- 
tion from high school, at the end of four years will be receiving a 
salary equal to what she might expect to receive, had she spent 
the four years at college and then taken up teaching. Up to 
this time I believe very few women college graduates have gone 
into this work, so I cannot say what they might expect. Or- 
dinarily, one must begin with a small salary and be content to 
advance slowly, but surely, it being the custom of most large banks 
to increase the salary of all their employees each year. In this 
way, if one stays on with the bank, one will in time receive a salary 
at least much larger than what one could earn at teaching. One 
college woman I know, after teaching successfully for a number of 
years, was offered $1,500 a year to take the position as manager 
of a woman's department. 

The advantages of the work are many. In addition to the 
material advantages, to a girl keenly interested in people, bank 
work offers an interesting field of observation, and has an edu- 
cative and broadening effect that teaching lacks. Moreover, 
in this work a woman gains a familiarity with business facts and 
figures that is invaluable to her, especially if she is dependent 
upon her own resources. Another advantage not to be overlooked 
is the value of associating with men of such high standards as 
the bankers of this country have almost invariably proved them- 
selves to be. 



BUSINESS 191 

But having spoken of the advantages of bank work for women, 
I must now speak of the drawbacks. The greatest of these is the 
fact that any bank position entails a great deal of confining and 
nerve-racking work. The bank day is a short one for customers. 
It is nearly twice as long for the clerks, who must stay at their 
desks until the day's work is finished, no matter how late that 
may be. Another serious disadvantage is that, since two or three 
weeks is the average time allowed for vacation, a bank clerk has 
little chance to travel and see the world. In summing up the 
whole situation, however, I would repeat that for a girl possessing, 
in addition to good health and a thorough education, habits of 
industry and a capacity for loyalty, — and by loyalty I mean not 
only enthusiasm for the success of the institution one serves, 
but a willingness to serve it to the best of one's abilities at all 
times and in all ways, — the banking world to-day offers many 
splendid opportunities for success in a work which is always 
interesting and stimulating. 



THE BANK LIBRARIAN AND FILING CLERK 
GERTRUDE UNDERHILL 

In discussing the work of the bank librarian and filing clerk, 
I do not pretend to cover the entire scope of woman's activity in 
banks, but to suggest a field which until recently has been little 
heard of. The necessity of putting a trained and educated person 
in charge of its papers and documents was first realized by one 
or two banking firms about twelve years ago. Dissatisfaction 
with the crude systems then in vogue led to the suggestion that 
library methods of cataloguing and classifying might be applied 
to the bank's papers. Columbia University Library and the 
Astor Library were called upon for cataloguers. The experiment 
was found to work successfully, and other houses followed suit. 

The positions of librarian and filing clerk are often combined. 
It is through this combination that one is brought in contact 
with the more interesting and varied work. In banks where the 



192 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

work is more highly specialized, however, the librarian's work 
may be combined with that of the statistician, as is fully shown 
in another article in this issue. 

The work of the librarian and filing clerk consists, first, in sys- 
tematizing, classifying, and indexing by subject the large accumu- 
lations of papers. The now well-known vertical system is uni- 
versally used. The subject of each file is indexed by card, and 
the card given a number identical to that used on the correspond- 
ing envelope or folder. A simple numerical system or a variation 
of the Dewey Decimal System may be adapted to the business 
files. The working out of a suitable system calls for much in- 
genuity and thought on the part of the worker. That a certain 
system has succeeded in one house is no absolute criterion that it 
will be adapted to the needs of another house, as the subjects 
dealt in may be quite different in each case. The great ideal of 
business men is to have their systems both adequate and simple: 
it is their pride to say, "Any one can find anything in our files. " 

The filing clerk's duties may be said only to begin with the dis- 
position of material. She must be prepared for any number of 
vague and indefinite requests for material, and be able through 
her intuitive sense to make quick guesses at what is really desired, 
as time is a most important element in "Wall Street." A man 
well versed in filing systems has said that in England firms usually 
allow a day for the hunting up of old files, but in America a filing 
clerk is looked on with suspicion if she takes more than three 
minutes, — one to one and one-half minutes is the average time 
allowed. In the files of a large banking house the variety of 
subjects is very great. There is an array of syndicate subjects; 
loans, foreign, domestic, and individual; legal and corporation 
matters, reports, mortgages, documents, and statistical work. It 
is the duty of the filing clerk to see that her files are kept up to 
date in all such matters. This is done by keeping in close touch 
with the correspondence of the firm, and also with the news items 
of the financial papers. 

Ten years ago the number of positions open in this line of work 
were comparatively few. The field, however, has broadened to 
such an extent that filing has become a recognized profession. 
The necessity for system has opened the door in most houses. 



BUSINESS 193 

As New York is the financial centre of the country, so the oppor- 
tunities here are many. Every so-called private banker, invest- 
ment house, national bank, and trust company of any standing 
offers such a position or will do so in the near future. 

To enter this line of work with some assurance of success, a 
short library training is desirable, if not absolutely necessary. 
During the course of training especial attention should be given 
to cataloguing and classification. Pratt Institute of Brooklyn 
and the New York Public Library offer excellent library courses. 
The colleges and universities of the city, particularly Columbia 
University, take apprentices in their libraries and give a very ade- 
quate training. In houses where assistants are employed one can 
very profitably serve a term of apprenticeship to some competent 
librarian. 

The different file equipment companies of the city give short 
suggestive or outline courses, which should be used only to supple- 
ment the library training. Cornell and the New York University 
offer courses in commerce and finance which aim to prepare the 
student for financial work. The curriculum in other colleges 
may be planned with this financial work in view. In this case, 
courses should be taken in economics and mathematics. A 
thorough reading knowledge of at least German and French should 
be acquired. 

The beginner in this work now gets $80 or $90 a month. " Raises 
in salary," however, are not infrequent, and a few years bring 
one to a good salary. Inquiry shows the average wage of the 
experienced worker to be about $1,500 a year. Better salaries 
than this are obtained in particular instances. Where the work 
is especially heavy, a salary of $2,000 a year is a just compen- 
sation. As in other lines of work, term of service here is a con- 
sideration, and as years are added to one's record, the salary 
grows. It remains with the woman to demand adequate pay for 
her service. 



194 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

THE BANK LIBRARIAN AND STATISTICIAN 

M. LOUISE ERWIN 

In many of the large New York banking and bond houses, 
women are now filling the position of librarian. In only a few 
are the positions of librarian and statistician combined, probably 
because of the lack of applicants having the necessary training. 

The duties as librarian are the classification and cataloguing 
or indexing of books, pamphlets, etc., keeping the records up to 
date, and keeping track of the documents called for. To accomplish 
this calls for constant and close reading of the daily papers and 
financial periodicals for issues of new securities, legislative enact- 
ments, and everything and anything calculated to interest or 
influence the finances of the United States, individual States, 
cities, railroad and industrial companies, etc. In addition to 
having the information on hand properly indexed and readily 
accessible, the statistician must be prepared to analyze mortgages 
and reports, write descriptive statements of securities, compile 
earnings and statistics of any and every kind. 

Most of the women now employed as statisticians have been 
trained as librarians and have come to some understanding of 
the statistical work through the demands made upon them. A 
few have worked into it through stenography, and at least one 
through editorial work. But no woman in the knowledge of the 
writer has as yet filled the position as it can and should be filled, 
since no woman with the requisite preliminary education has ever 
taken up the work. Those now engaged who appreciate their 
lack of preparation have taken up the course at the Washington 
Square branch of the New York University designed especially 
for bank clerks. 

The demands of the different houses upon their statistical 
departments are so varied that it would be impossible to map out 
a course of study to fit one exactly for every position offered. In 
a general way it may be said that a study of the principles of 
political economy, a course in higher mathematics with a knowl- 






BUSINESS 195 

edge of accountancy, especially of railroad, accounts, would be 
essential. Some knowledge of law would be most helpful. There 
is also recommended a study of the financial history of the United 
States and of foreign countries, a familiarity with the publications 
issued by the different departments of the Federal and State 
governments, reports on commerce and navigation, crop reports, 
reports issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the 
reports of railroad and industrial corporations. 

To those who desire to train for this special work, it may be 
said that, while it is interesting, it is also exacting. The hours 
are not those commonly known as banking hours; i.e., from 10 a.m. 
to 3 p.m. On the contrary, there will be many days when from 
9 to 6 will not be long enough to accomplish the required 
tasks. 

In order to insure the mental alertness, the quickness of com- 
prehension, and the clear thinking and reasoning power essential 
to enable one to answer any and all manner of questions and to 
grapple with financial problems, much self-denial must be exer- 
cised : there must be a minimum of social gayety and a maximum 
of rest to preserve the nerve centres. 

Compensation will depend upon how valuable the incumbent 
can make herself to her employers. The average is probably 
from $750 to $2,000, with a vacation of from two to three weeks 
in the summer. 



REAL ESTATE 

MRS. M. E. ALEXANDER 

Real Estate Agent and Broker, New York 

The purpose of this article is to set forth as briefly as pos- 
sible such information about the real estate business as will 
be of particular assistance to the woman who is considering a 
choice of occupation. 

The Nature of the Work. 

The real estate business embraces the following: buying, 
selling, exchanging, leasing, managing, appraising, mortgaging, 



196 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

auctioning, financing, and building. The business is divided 
into two branches, brokerage and agency, and then subdivided 
generally into specialties, the whole being carried on by either 
the broker or the agent, who is the connecting link between the 
owner and the purchaser. Property is bought and sold by the 
investor, the speculator, — better termed the operator, — and by 
the prospective resident. The broker acts for the investor, the 
speculator, and the prospective resident in buying, selling, and 
exchanging; the agent, in leasing, managing, and mortgaging; 
and either the broker or agent, generally specializing, acts in 
appraising, mortgaging, auctioning, financing, and building. 

Qualifications and Training Necessary. 

A woman desiring to enter this profession should possess the 
realty instinct, combined with a commercial and legal mind, 
energy, application, method, punctuality, accuracy, despatch, 
integrity, breadth of view, and self-reliance. These, added to her 
natural keen intuition, initiative, and attention to detail, par- 
ticularly adapt her to the real estate business. 

The qualifications of the broker and agent are similar, in that 
they both should possess the above characteristics, be skilful 
in arguments of fact, and be able to sum up accurately the prin- 
cipals' points of view, to overcome objections, and to determine 
and fix values and the conditions which detract from them. The 
broker must have ideas, and be able to work out new uses for prop- 
erties, to recognize the psychological moment when two minds 
meet, and at that instant be able to draw up and secure the sign- 
ing of a contract. Brokers who are clever at closing contracts 
at a moment's notice possess a most valuable asset. The agent 
must be equipped with the happy faculty of quick perception 
in appreciating the requirements of a prospective tenant, and 
have sound judgment in securing tenants; must have executive 
ability, mechanical sense, be able to attend skilfully to a great 
number of uninteresting details, and be thoroughly posted on gen- 
eral real estate conditions. The mere ability to collect rents is 
not sufficient. 

Helpful theoretical training can be obtained by attending a 
series of lectures given in one of the Eastern universities from 



BUSINESS 197 

September to May of each year, covering the particular subjects 
of the work, such as landlord and tenant, Contracts, leases, taxes 
and assessments, building code, deeds, bonds and mortgages, and 
the duties of a broker and agent. A course in real property 
law will assist materially. 

Considerable knowledge may also be obtained by reading the 
different articles on real estate found in the Record and Guide 
and in most daily newspapers, the New York Herald making a 
special feature of the real estate section. The following text- 
books would also be helpful, — Principles of City Land Values, 
Real Property Law, Contracts, Landlord and Tenants including 
Summary Proceedings. Like any other profession, the lectures 
and readings cannot replace the curriculum of the school of act- 
ual experience, which is absolutely the first rung, no matter what 
may be in store farther up the ladder. 

Opportunities. 

Suburban land companies offer to both men and women 
opportunities to sell plots to residence buyers, this being a step- 
ping-stone to larger work. Of course, to get the actual office 
experience, it is necessary to become directly connected with a 
real estate firm, taking up the Agency Branch, as this is the first 
and most valuable step, and women seem to make better agents 
than men. 

Commission v. Salary. 

Returns are realized only when actual work is consummated, 
being based on commission and not salaries. The first essential 
to the hope of compensation is stick-to-it-iveness. Unless one 
possesses a large supply of the above qualification, the delayed 
opportunity at the beginning is apt to discourage. On the other 
hand, the luck of an unusually large first transaction is question- 
able, often bringing, discouragement if the standard is not main- 
tained. This, however, is more beneficial as consolation in the 
former contingency than as a warning in the latter. 

It is difficult to state the amount one could earn per year, — 
conservatively speaking, about $900 the first year. Of course, 
one is just as likely to make considerably more or less. 



198 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

Women heretofore have not been given an equal opportunity 
with men, but are becoming more and more recognized in this 
business. There is a large field for women of ability, ability being 
the only passport. 



INSURANCE 
EDNA BLANCHARD LEWIS 

Insurance Broker, Woman's Insurance Department, New York 

Insurance was my choice upon entering a business life after 
ten years of teaching, first of all because I most firmly believed 
in it, and had seen the great benefit to those who had occasion 
to prove its worth. A strong additional reason was that there 
is always more or less demand for insurance in one line or an- 
other. 

In undertaking the insurance business, a beginning may be made 
by becoming an agent for some company. An agent works 
for one company only, and is employed by that particular com- 
pany under a commission or perhaps a salary, the earnings de- 
pending, of course, entirely upon his interest and good manage- 
ment of the business. After a certain amount of experience the 
agent may become a broker. A broker operates for all companies 
in the interest of the assured, having a license so to do from the 
State or States where business is carried on. In case of a differ- 
ence in the settlement of claims the broker stands between the 
assured and the company, and takes the entire responsibility of 
a harmonious settlement. This responsibility should be clearly 
understood and reflected upon before entering the insurance 
field, either as an agent or as a broker. The broker's income, 
like that of the agent, depends upon the number of customers and 
the amount of insurance carried by each. A broker has more 
influence than an agent, because the various companies are com- 
peting for any business he may send in or control, while the 
agent belongs to only one company. 

Among the various kinds of insurance policies written are fire, 
life, endowment, burglary, disability, plate glass, and marine (car- 



BUSINESS 199 

goes and vessels), etc. To the woman just entering the insur- 
ance business the value of specialization in some form or other 
is to be particularly commended. The expert in fire or life insur- 
ance, the adept in endowment or annuities, is too seldom found 
among agents and even brokers. In connection with insurance 
of any sort there always comes the opportunity to operate real 
estate in its various forms, — the collection of rents, the renting 
of houses and stores, and the selling and buying of properties. 

To the college woman who is starting out there is no special 
training school along insurance lines. She must get the actual 
experience from actual work. An important feature of this 
work is going about and arranging for interviews with prospec- 
tive policy-holders. Possible customers may be selected frcm 
among personal acquaintances, to start with, or from members of 
some profession, — doctors, lawyers, or teachers. The interviews 
must in any case be planned with system and forethought. I 
was "started out" years ago with a rate book from one of the large 
life insurance companies, and could only be sure of my facts and 
figures. What to say and how to say it was left entirely to my 
own judgment, and my income depended entirely upon the num- 
ber of policies written. From this experience I would suggest 
that helpful subjects would be special training in mathematics, 
logic, ethics, and psychology. 

There are to-day comparatively few women in the insurance 
work, but there are many opportunities for those who are earnest 
and capable. Such women would, without a doubt, build up 
a successful business in a comparatively short time. It takes 
capital to establish such a business, but if for a period, say 
a year or so, a beginning is made with a company as a special 
agent, it will not be long before the commissions will permit 
of the establishment of an office. Women have written insur- 
ance successfully and extensively in Boston, Philadelphia, New 
York, Chicago, and throughout the entire East and West. 
There is plenty of room for brokerage firms to be established 
and operated by women, either in large cities or small ones. 
The country town also affords a fine opportunity for a general 
agency of several different lines of the work. Special agencies 
are given upon application by any company or companies, 



200 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

provided all vacancies in the proposed district have not been 
filled. No salary is allowed under such circumstances, but as 
only one agency is established in one town, the monopoly 
of the business is assured when the appointment is made. Any 
responsible person who has had a year or more of experience 
in writing policies or as an agent, and has thereby received a 
broker's license from his State, may be appointed. 

I should estimate as a fair average earning $800 to $1,000 yearly 
to start with, and from $1,500 to $4,000 or $5,000 to one who 
has become thoroughly conversant with the details of the busi- 
ness and has established a good patronage. It is not easy work, 
but the income will always be commensurate with the efforts 
made and with the ability to produce. In rare cases salaries are 
given by the various companies, but only to experienced workers. 
The highest yearly income yet reached by a woman in this line 
is, I believe, $10,000. 

The insurance business needs the influence of the strong, open- 
minded, enthusiastic, and intellectual woman. It needs women 
whose aim is not limited to financial success, however sure that 
may be, but reaches rather to a high desire to be of real service 
to others, and to prove beyond a question the worth of the 
vocation. 



VI 
CLERICAL AND SECRETARIAL WORK 



THE COLLEGE WOMAN AS SECRETARY 

SARAH LOUISE ARNOLD 

Dean of Simmons College, Boston 

In no field are the duties more variable than in that accorded 
to the secretary. The so-called secretary may address envelopes 
all day or she may dictate original letters to a score of clerks. 
She may do one thing exactly as she is told from Monday morning 
to Saturday night or she may organize, control, and initiate. 
Her immediate task, then, may demand only a limited experience 
and training or it may make use of the broadest possible culture, 
the finest personality, and the utmost executive ability. Obvi- 
ously, the one who is fitted only for the minor position will never 
advance. It is likewise true that the secretary who is equal to 
the greatest task may often find herself required to perform the 
humblest, and if she is really capable, she will turn cheerfully 
from one phase of her work to the other, finding advantage in 
either experience. 

The writer has been asked to present this problem as it has 
appeared in the office of a college whose purpose is to prepare 
women for self-maintenance. A large group of its students is 
pursuing a course of study which prepares them for secretarial 
duties. Its graduates are at work as secretaries, and some light 
is thrown upon the- present question by their experience and by 
the demands made upon the college for further service. 

The determination to include this school in the college was the 
result of conferences in which men of affairs had expressed the 
belief that secretaries could not be adequately trained without 
the college opportunity. In these conferences it had been often 

201 



202 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

stated that technique was useless unless supported by a broad 
general training. In other words, the hand of the typewriter was 
useless without the head, and was valuable in proportion to the 
intellect which guided it. It was determined, therefore, to outline 
a four years' course for college women, which should make them 
ready for secretarial work. Provision was made further for a 
one-year technical program for college graduates. The longer 
curriculum included adequate courses in English, modern lan- 
guages, science, history, economics, philosophy, etc., with the 
added technical training which the task in itself dictates, — sten- 
ography, typewriting, book-keeping, business methods. These 
tasks were so arranged as to develop habit and tendency, as well 
as mere knowledge of technique. In the briefer course only 
technical subjects were provided, since it was intended for 
students who had already completed a four years' college course. 

The demand for workers who had had this preparation showed 
at once that the theory advanced by the early advisers is generally 
accepted by intelligent employers. Evidently the employer feels 
that it is to his advantage to have the period of apprenticeship 
in his office shortened by appropriate secretarial training. He 
likewise looks forward with some hope to the larger understanding 
which is assured by a college education. 

The event has proved not only that there is a large demand, 
but that this demand is of infinite variety. The economist de- 
sires a secretary who will understand the alphabet of his subject, 
who will easily take dictation and correctly transcribe, who will 
also help him to secure material, will classify documents and data 
with judgment as well as accuracy, and will become expert in his 
particular field. At the same time all the lesser correspondence 
must be carried on, library and office must be in order, and many 
minor details must be kept in hand. The physician makes a 
similar demand, expecting intelligence concerning biology and 
chemistry, and possibly some aptitude in nursing, while here, too, 
correspondence and accounts will be emphasized, and the secretary 
is expected to preside with tact and judgment over the telephone 
and even the door-bell. The publisher requires an army of sec- 
retaries of varying capacities, ranging from mere routine to execu- 
tive skill and paid accordingly. The lawyer demands a different 



CLERICAL AND SECRETARIAL WORK 203 

vocabulary, and insists upon absolute accuracy. Here, also, 
swiftness is in demand, and the expert who is able to report court 
proceedings without error may receive large compensation. The 
college calls for a registrar or secretary who shall be familiar with 
problems of both curriculum and administration, who shall deal 
graciously with the public and with the college constituency, who 
shall understand the problems of the individual students and the 
anxieties of father and mother. Yet here, too, the daily routine 
may often involve many simple tasks repeated over and over. 
The business woman requires a secretary who is accomplished in 
social correspondence as well as in business matters, who is accu- 
rate in filing, able to look up subjects at the library, ready to do 
an errand down town or even to mend her gloves. It is evident 
that the demand upon the secretary varies not only with the 
business, but with the employer. Success may depend, then, 
quite as much upon individuaP characteristics as upon technical 
training. 

Experience further shows that the qualifications of the secretary 
are: first, character; second, personality; third, general educa- 
tion; fourth, technique. The order of the statement is inten- 
tional; it is virtually a summary of the evidence secured in 
conferences with employers and in reports from the field. 

The character of the secretary is indicated by the largest de- 
mands to be made upon her. Whether her work is small or great, 
she should be absolutely trustworthy. The work of her office is 
a private affair, not on any terms to be communicated to others; 
what she hears and transmits she must not tell, — it is not hers to 
give away. She must, therefore, have a fine sense of honor, to 
be worthy of trust. Further, she must have joy in service as such; 
she cannot succeed if her first desire is to be "let out" when the 
clock strikes five. She must have, also, a sense of social respon- 
sibility, and must clearly recognize the relation of her task to the 
general welfare. In fact, she must almost over-emphasize the 
importance of this, so that she may not substitute personal con- 
venience and privilege for the work which she has promised to 
fulfil. No one need expect to succeed as a secretary in any re- 
sponsible position unless this character is assured. 

By personality we mean all the gracious gifts which home, school, 



204 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

friends, and other great factors of environment have bestowed 
upon fortunate individuals, or — shall we say, which individuals 
have won from their environment. The ability to deal easily 
and pleasantly with the various persons with whom one is brought 
in contact is indispensable to the secretary. Invariably courteous, 
gentle, cheerful, tactful, sunny, courageous, optimistic, she creates 
the atmosphere of the office. When hearing dictation, she is 
silent even under hesitation or repetition. She does not intrude 
comments on the weather into the sermon or thesis which she is 
transcribing. While serving as the stenographer, she is merely 
the channel for the message, and her own personality for the time 
being is lost in the impersonal act. At the same time she never 
fails to perceive anything which would add to the convenience 
of her employer, never forgets appointments or other items of 
business interest, brings order out of disorder, and in general 
makes good deficiencies without seeming to notice them. 

These various abilities indicate the power of losing one's self 
in the interest of another and finding pleasure in the act and art 
of service. Imagination is helpful here, and the person who has 
been accustomed to the courtesies of a refined home has here a 
great advantage. 

It is evident from the description of the variety of the positions 
awaiting the secretary that general education is indispensable. 
The stenographer may be master of machine and sign, yet utterly 
ignorant of the subject with which the employer is concerned. 
When a sentence has once been dictated, it is recalled only by the 
stenographic sign. If the words are completely new, any hesita- 
tion causes the secretary to ransack her vocabulary in search of 
the right word. It is evident that, if her training has been meagre, 
the vocabulary fails to respond, for "words are the signs of ideas," 
and naturally refuse to appear when the ideas are totally lacking. 

No subject of study is, therefore, remote or without use to the 
secretary: she must always be a student of English for the sake 
of clearness of expression and style, as well as understanding; 
history is indispensable, if she is to deal with educated persons; 
languages reinforce her English; science increases her vocabu- 
lary and lends clearness and definiteness. Nothing comes amiss. 
Aside from the knowledge gained, the training of the college should 



CLERICAL AND SECRETARIAL WORK 205 

have left her with a mind apt to learn its new lessons and ready to 
be taught. If she is well educated, she will take up her new 
work with spirit, rejoicing in every new thing to be learned, eager 
to follow the new path and to achieve new tasks. It is the 
timbre of the trained mind which counts, quite as much as the 
knowledge which it is supposed to bring. 

Fourth in the list of essentials we have placed technique. It 
goes without saying that, other things being equal, technical 
skill will determine the rapidity of advancement and ability to 
hold the position. Every secretary should write a good, clear, 
legible hand. This requirement is indispensable, and is, unhap- 
pily, difficult to secure. The long-hand is as necessary as the short- 
hand. In the latter art, however, speed and accuracy are essen- 
tial. Of course, accuracy comes first. This having been secured, 
so that the writer is trustworthy, technically speaking, every 
gain in speed multiplies the value of the secretary to the em- 
ployer. If twice as many letters can be taken in an hour, the 
secretary is twice as valuable. Everything which costs the em- 
ployer's time diminishes the value of the secretary. Here, then, 
is a good reason for the painstaking which results in technical 
skill. 

It is easy to see that the secretary who possesses the charac- 
teristics named, who has all the abilities described, will be in great 
demand. During a public conference concerning the opportu- 
nities for college women a gentleman once asked what such a 
secretary would earn. Instantly a business man sprang to his 
feet, and replied: "Please say that such a woman would release 
$10,000 time. She should be paid accordingly." 

A little thought given to this reply will indicate why the char- 
acteristics referred to are indispensable to the secretary. The 
college woman who is preparing for such duties should hold before 
her this ideal of the secretary's task. 



206 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



CLERICAL AND SECRETARIAL WORK 

HELEN M. KELSEY 

Manager, Fifth Avenue Agenct, New York 

Fully nine-tenths of the "clerical and secretarial positions" 
to which a college girl would be attracted are entered by means 
of a knowledge of stenography and typewriting. The other tenth, 
such as those requiring book-keeping, accounting, statistical work, 
etc., may be dismissed from consideration in this article. 

There are many and varied openings for the college girl in 
secretarial work proper. She may be secretary in a school, 
where her duties include, besides the writing of letters from dic- 
tation, the keeping of school records, the making out of reports, 
and the daily accounting, though rarely any book-keeping. Some- 
times, of course, the school secretary is, properly speaking, the 
private secretary of the principal, in which case her duties may be 
classed with those of the secretary to any individual, whether he 
be principal, professor, doctor, or philanthropist. Besides these 
openings in professional circles, there are a few of what may be 
called "semi-literary" positions, such as those in publishing 
houses, in which a college woman may gradually attain to posi- 
tions of a good deal of responsibility in reading manuscript, 
editing, etc. Here she is doing a bit of original work which may 
in the end absorb her to the exclusion of her purely secretarial 
duties. Along this line is the work with large philanthropic and 
religious organizations, where a secretary may assist the head 
of a department, working at his direction, and also, in his absence, 
assuming the direction of the office routine. From this subor- 
dinate position the woman of good judgment may advance in 
time to the headship of a department or to the charge of a smaller 
independent organization. Aside from these there is a wide 
but less well-known field for those who are attracted by it in the 
purely commercial world. The generation of college men that 
are coming more and more to the front in business appreciates 
the value of the trained mind, and with the tendency toward 



CLERICAL AND SECRETARIAL WORK 207 

greater specialization in all lines demands secretaries who can 
be depended upon to act with judgment. 

All the positions described above merit this special mention 
here because the college education per se is the fundamental ele- 
ment of value. It gives a background which makes possible an 
intelligent grasp of the details of the particular occupation, 
whether it is education, publication, philanthropy, or commerce. 
But let the graduate remember that her college education is but 
the background. It must be supplemented by special training 
and by acquaintance with business methods. 

Acquaintance with business methods the individual employer 
expects her to gain under his direction, but special training she 
must acquire by further study. In practice the employer expects 
his new employee to take time to learn the details of his business, 
but he demands that she "earn her salt" in the mean time, and 
his idea is that she does both most effectively by taking corre- 
spondence. The conclusion is clear: the woman who enters 
business does so most easily through the open door of stenog- 
raphy. 

Let her, then, choose a good school, — one in which the instruc- 
tion is individual, so that she need not be held back by other 
pupils who start less well equipped, — and let her put her whole 
mind to acquiring an accurate knowledge of stenography and 
typewriting. For the college woman the important acquirement 
is not at first speed, but rather a thorough knowledge of the 
principles, so that her notes may be absolutely accurate and read- 
able. In the class of position she will enter, not bulk of output, 
but quality, is the first requirement. The number of months 
required to gain a practical command of stenography varies so 
greatly with individual aptitude that generalization is danger- 
ous. In rare cases a student may acquire a practical knowledge 
of short-hand — i.e., what is called "letter speed" — in from four 
to six months. But this length of time presupposes both apti- 
tude and application, and certainly no shorter time should be 
counted upon. Disappointment and ultimate loss of time are 
sure to follow too hasty a course. 

Given, then, a college education and a working knowledge of 
stenography, is success assured? By no means; for one important 



208 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

element of success in this line, as in any other, is the indefinable 
quality called "personality," and another element is the individ- 
ual's attitude toward her work. Promotion in the business world 
is not a matter of routine; it goes to the one who deserves it, 
be she an old or a new employee, a college girl or "self-made." 
The college girl, then, must start with the rest, and win her way 
by sheer merit and ability. The chance is to the one who does 
not refuse a beginning, however small, and who realizes that her 
position is what she makes it. 

The question as to what constitutes a small beginning in terms 
of salary is difficult to answer, since this must always be gauged 
by the current cost of living. One college graduate, for instance, 
saw the advantage to her of a position in New York offering only 
$8 a week, and within two years she had advanced gradually 
with the same organization to a position paying $20 a week, her 
average salary during the two years having been probably about 
$15. But in most cases a beginner is not expected to take less 
than the current living wage, about $50 per month according to 
New York standards. From this the advance depends almost 
entirely upon individual aptitude, upon the secretary's ability to 
make herself valuable. Unlike the teacher, she is usually not 
bound to a yearly contract, and may have her salary raised 
several times in twelve months. She may, and probably will, if 
she is of average ability, soon be worth §65 per month, and get 
it; and there is no maximum limit for the secretary who can make 
herself indispensable. A fair salary for a private secretary is 
$1,200, and the woman secretary of one philanthropist has 
received $10,000 per year. 

Unlimited opportunity lies before the one who will remember 
that merit counts in this line of work more than in almost any 
other. A woman equipped with a college education, some tech- 
nical preparation, and above all with that confidence in her own 
ability to "make good" which makes her willing to start low 
and earn her way, has the world before her. 



CLERICAL AND SECRETARIAL WORK 209 



THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
ANNE PILLSBURY ANDERSON 

Formerly Private Secretary to Hon. Joseph H. Choate 

The duties of a private secretary have been gilded to such an 
extent by the popular novelists and playwrights that the prevail- 
ing idea among the uninitiated is that letter- writing in a fair hand 
constitutes the most difficult of the tasks imposed, and that, when 
not occupied with correspondence, the secretary stands in effec- 
tive attitudes in a more or less well-lighted background. How- 
ever familiar this may be in theory, practice speedily pin-pricks 
this peaceful and alluring bubble. 

A thoroughly successful secretary is born quite as much as 
made, as the corner-stone upon which all attainments rest is 
composed equally of the ability of keeping secrets as deeply buried 
as the treasures of an unknown Egyptian tomb and a well-devel- 
oped sixth sense. To this foundation must be added method and 
neatness and as many virtues as one poor mortal can muster, 
tact, courtesy, and self-control being not the least among them. 
As to practical attainments, it is necessary that one should have 
as broad an education as possible, a thorough knowledge of stenog- 
raphy and typewriting and also of a cataloguing or card index 
system. As the requirements of each position vary, there can 
be no hard-and-fast rule of what should be studied in the so-called 
"commercial course" other than the above. 

The best method of obtaining the practical training, which is 
an absolute essential, is to enter a busy office as stenographer to 
a member of a firm or officer of a corporation. In the majority 
of cases a stenographer grows into a secretary gradually, a busy 
man being only too thankful to throw into competent hands the 
details which are too vexatious and petty for his considera- 
tion. As this preliminary position is taken as a means to ulti- 
mate secretarial work, it is quite necessary to be known to the 
members of the firm and as many of their clients as possible by 
cheerful, accurate work. I have seldom known faithful, satis- 



210 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

factory service to go unrewarded, but it is often necessary to seek 
openings for advancement. The length of this training depends 
entirely upon natural ability and upon the power to seize and make 
the most of opportunities. 

As to compensation, one must again be vague. It all depends 
upon the circumstances of locality and requirements. 

It is difficult to imagine a profession less controlled by routine 
than that of a private secretary. Each day differs from the pre- 
ceding one, and there is never a dull succession of drab weeks. 
Instead, the brain is kept alert by the questions and perplexities 
of the hour, and the ability to perform the daily duties "judg- 
matically" grows with the months and years of experience. One 
year at least is required as a probation period upon entering a 
new position. Until a twelvemonth has elapsed, a secretary has 
not learned the A, B, C, of the countless details of the work peculiar 
to that particular post, and to the end of incumbency each day 
brings fresh lessons. 

If there is the slightest expectation of a rosy, sunny existence 
in being methodical in confused surroundings, neat in disorder, 
or self-controlled in a post surging with problems, stop before 
beginning. If one perseveres, one may confidently expect to 
widen one's horizon, deepen one's sympathies, and gain an unusual 
knowledge of men and affairs, quite impossible in the majority 
of professions. 



TRAINING FOR INITIATIVE IN SECRETARIAL WORK 
ALICE HARRIET GRADY 

Secretary to Mr. Louis D. Brandeis, Boston 

Being secretary to a busy, brainy man of large affairs demands 
the unremitting energy and unstinted devotion of a woman whose 
intelligence and sympathy are sufficiently well developed to enable 
her to appreciate the importance of the undertakings in which 
he is engaged. Mere quickness and skill will not make the ideal 
secretary. 



CLERICAL AND SECRETARIAL WORK 211 

Length and Kind of Training. 

A college course obviously lays the foundation for a quick assimi- 
lation of the specific knowledge to be acquired before entering a 
business office. Then there should be one year at a good business 
college, during which, besides the special study of short-hand and 
typewriting, some attention should be given to elementary book- 
keeping and arithmetic and the methods of banking, also partic- 
ular attention to spelling and punctuation. The knowledge of 
how to file papers, transmit telephone messages, and perform 
the numberless duties incident to office life is best acquired by 
doing them. A few months* experience in a business office down 
town will be found more valuable than any institutional train- 
ing, and should be acquired, even though the applicant finds 
it necessary to offer her services free of charge for a short time. 

Probable Cost of Training. 

The cost of one year's tuition at a good business college will 
probably be in the neighborhood of $150. After supplementing 
this tuition by six months of faithful work and observation as 
a "substitute," the candidate should be worth $10 a week as a 
stenographer. Now begins the real period of apprenticeship. 
During the next four years there will be ample opportunity for 
the cultivation of "adaptability," as she seeks to adjust her life 
to the practical world of affairs in which she finds herself. This 
is all a part of the training. 

She must not be discouraged if at the end of four years she 
still finds herself in receipt of a small salary. The four years' 
specific training should show a very marked increase in intellectual 
alertness and sympathetic appreciation of the undertakings in 
which her employer is engaged; and it is with this key that she 
may hope to unlock the door to the position of confidential sec- 
retary. If at the end of ten years, however, a woman who has 
made use of her opportunities for service is not receiving a salary 
of at least $1,200 a year, it is time for her to make a critical ex- 
amination of herself and her work, and find out the reason why. 
Her increase in value to her employer and his business from this 
time on, while it depends largely, of course, upon herself, must 



212 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

also depend upon his ability to permit her to be useful. Those 
women who are now filling positions as confidential secretaries 
are still considered something of an experiment, and there are 
many business men who have not yet grown sufficiently accus- 
tomed to placing confidence in a woman's discretion and ability 
to enable them to appreciate her possible worth in business and 
to utilize her capabilities. 

Character and Scope of the Work. 

The duties will vary with the business or profession of the em- 
ployer, and may cover activities ranging all the way from filling 
an ink-well, adding a column of figures, making appointments, 
or figuring a percentage, to reporting a legislative hearing. In 
some offices they may include ordering office supplies, the filing 
away of correspondence and other important papers, books, pam- 
phlets, maps, charts, etc., for future reference, the test of good 
filing being, of course, the ability to find a document immediately 
when it is wanted. 

Number of Openings in Boston. 

In my opinion there will continue to be openings in Boston 
until every man or woman in the city transacting a business of 
any magnitude has an assistant whose qualifications I shall attempt 
to outline. 

Qualifications. 

System. — Punctuality, thoroughness, neatness, method, fore- 
thought, observation, and accuracy naturally group themselves 
under this head. 

Education. — By education I mean not the facts and figures 
and theories dug from books in the college class-room, but the 
ability to apply those facts and theories to the practical affairs 
of life. The importance also of "general information,' ' culled 
nowadays largely from newspapers and magazines, is not to be 
overlooked. The secretary should be familiar with the names of 
the prominent people in her own community, and know some- 
thing of the movements in which they are interested. She should 
not permit herself to be altogether ignorant of what the people 



CLERICAL AND SECRETARIAL WORK 213 

in other cities, other States, and other countries are doing towards 
making current history. 

Rectitude. — In adapting one's self to "team work," one should 
not forget that the merging of minor considerations for the sake 
of the larger cause does not mean a deviation from one's reso- 
lute adherence to one's own convictions on any question at issue 
involving a matter of principle. 

Versatility. — The work of the stenographer or secretary may 
demand some slight knowledge of the technicalities of many busi- 
nesses. For instance, in a law office she may to-day be called 
upon to report a conference between men in the medical profes- 
sion. To-morrow an architect may desire to dictate a contract 
for the building of one of our modern beehives of industry. The 
next day a poultry dealer attempts to lay before counsel in the 
presence of a stenographer his complaint concerning brooder- 
houses and incubators on his chicken farm. In each case our 
would-be stenographer discovers herself in need of an entirely new 
vocabulary, and happy is the woman who finds that she is mis- 
tress of the situation. 

In the average office, too, the personnel is constantly changing, 
and it becomes the part of wisdom for the stenographer to be 
sufficiently familiar with the duties of those about her to perform 
their tasks, if occasion requires their absence or some unusual 
congestion of work in another department of the establishment 
requires her assistance outside of her own prescribed duties. 

Initiative. — This quality has been described as "the ability to 
do the right thing without being told." Equally valuable, it 
seems to me, is the ability to avoid doing the wrong thing 
without being told. It is this one quality, perhaps more than 
any other, that differentiates the "stenographer" from the 
"secretary," which terms are used by many persons as though 
they were synonymous. 

Cheerfulness. — Under this head must be included sound health 
and a well-nourished body. It should be particularly remem- 
bered that it is not so much what one does as the way one 
does it that counts. 

Professional Spirit. — A transformation would be wrought in 
the attitude of men towards women in business if the women 



214 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

would discipline themselves into limiting their conversation dur- 
ing business hours to strictly professional topics! The aggregate 
increase in economic efficiency which could thus be realized can 
hardly be estimated. 

A sympathetic appreciation of the business undertaking, a 
gradual merging of one's self into the community life about one 
will develop that esprit de corps and loyalty to one's business 
associates without which no office community can be run har- 
moniously or successfully. 

Enthusiasm. — It is one of the secrets which every successful 
business woman learns for herself, sooner or later, that the con- 
fidence which she desires to inspire grows by what it feeds upon, 
and that an enthusiastic assumption of the smaller responsibilities 
of to-day invites larger responsibilities on the morrow. It is par- 
ticularly true in the business life that we build to-morrow upon 
the foundation which we lay to-day. 



VII 
LITERARY WORK 



LIBRARY WORK FOR WOMEN 

JOSEPHINE ADAMS RATHBONE 

Instructor, Pratt Institute Library School 

The field of library work is a very broad one; it is con- 
tinually enlarging, and no corner of it is barred from women. 
The more important positions are filled by men, as in all other 
professions, and this will probably be the case for years to come, 
until women's executive powers have been trained by use; but 
the difference between the positions held by men and by women 
is one of degree, not of kind, and there is, on the whole, less differ- 
ence between the highest salaries paid to men and to women 
in it than in any other salaried profession. 

The educational requirements and professional training nec- 
essary for success in library work will be discussed elsewhere. 
It should be understood that the conditions set forth in this paper 
apply to those who have had or who desire to obtain the necessary 
preparation for efficient service. 

For our purpose we will consider the library work under three 
heads: Public Libraries, School and College Libraries, and 
Special Libraries. 

Public Libraries. • 

We will omit from consideration the village libraries of less 
than 5,000 volumes. These can seldom afford trained assistants, 
and many of them are administered by volunteers. 

The librarian of the library of from 5,000 to 100,000 volumes, 
of which there are about 2,000 in the United States, is usually a 

215 



216 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

woman. She has the opportunity of making her library the cen- 
tre of the educational and intellectual life of the community. 
She comes into contact, as does the woman in no other occupa- 
tion, with every element of the community, — with the school- 
children of all ages, with the teachers, with business and profes- 
sional men, with women's clubs, and with organizations of all 
kinds. It is her business to study the community and find out 
its interests and its needs, to select books to meet these interests 
and needs, to make these books available by her knowledge of 
the best library methods, and to attract people to the library by 
making its resources known, by stimulating an interest in books, 
and by creating an atmosphere of culture, of hospitality, and 
of helpfulness within the library itself. There is in this work 
scope for the exercise of all a woman's powers, — executive ability, 
knowledge of books, social sympathies, knowledge of human 
nature. 

The salaries for trained women as head librarians range from 
$600 in the smaller communities to $2,500 or $3,000, the larger 
number being between $900 and $1,200. 

In a small library the librarian and two or three assistants 
do all the various kinds of work, getting the books ready for 
use and serving the children and adults who come to the library, 
but in the larger libraries there is need for greater specialization 
and special branches of the work have developed. Among these 
are administrative work, cataloguing, reference work, circulat- 
ing department work, children's work, school work, each de- 
manding workers with special qualifications. 

The chief administrative posts in large libraries are for the 
most part held by men, though there are a number of women 
assistant librarians or librarians' secretaries with salaries of 
from $1,000 to $2,000. Administrative in character also are the 
positions of librarians of branch libraries, of which there are 
sixty odd in Greater New York alone, practically all held by 
women, and ranging in salary from $900 to $1,500. The amount 
of responsibility resting upon the branch librarian depends on 
the policy of the system. It is, generally speaking, somewhat 
less than that of the librarian of an independent library of the 
same size, but the opportunities for usefulness are almost as 



LITERARY WORK 217 

great, and in the larger city systems far ^greater than in many 
independent libraries that are hampered by a conservative or 
restrictive board of trustees. 

Circulating Department Work. — The coming of the "open shelf* 
has brought books, readers, and library assistants together in a 
new relation. It is now realized that this point of contact is a 
vitally important thing, and the standard of intelligence and cult- 
ure demanded of circulating department assistants is being raised 
rapidly. Women possessed of the broadest culture as well as of 
attractive personality and executive ability are being sought for 
the headship of circulation departments at salaries of from $900 
to $1,800, and the supply is far from adequate. Trained assist- 
ants in the circulation departments get from $50 to $100 a 
month, and the standards of salary are rising with those of 
efficiency. 

Children's Work. — This is comparatively a new field, and the 
demand for trained workers of pleasing personality, experience 
and sympathy with children, and knowledge of children's books, 
greatly exceeds the supply. The larger city systems have super- 
visors of children's work at salaries ranging from $1,200 to $1,800. 
Librarians in charge of children's rooms in independent libraries 
or in branch libraries receive from $700 to $1,200, assistants in 
children's rooms from $500 to $800. 

Besides the books themselves, children's librarians have used 
pictures and other illustrative material to attract and influence 
the children, and have found story-telling a very effective means 
of stimulating an interest in reading and of introducing the chil- 
dren to authors and to subjects that they might not otherwise 
discover. So important a part of children's work has the story 
hour become that some are already specializing in the direction 
of story-telling, and more will undoubtedly do so. 

Work with Schools. — This is closely allied to children's work, 
but many of the larger libraries have assistants who give all their 
time to library work with the schools, and at least one of the large 
systems has a regularly organized department for this work, with 
assistants in the several branches. 

This work may include visiting the schools, sending to the 
class-rooms, or arranging in the libraries collections of books 



218 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

relating to the subjects studied in the schools, preparing exhi- 
bitions of material illustrative of special subjects, keeping the 
teachers informed of books and periodical articles on their sub- 
jects, etc. Many who go into this work have been teachers 
or have had normal school training. The remuneration is about 
that of the children's librarians. 

Reference Work. — This work consists in helping people who 
come to the library for information as distinguished from those 
who come to borrow books, and the information sought may 
range from the pronunciation of a word to material on the psy- 
chology of white rats or the evolution of the leit-motif. There 
is needed a wide range of general information, knowledge of 
books, a reading knowledge of French and German, as many 
of the best reference books are in these languages, tact in meeting 
people, infinite patience, and a certain detective faculty for fol- 
lowing clews. In the larger libraries, reference work has become 
largely specialized; art, music, applied science, law, and medical 
reference departments are found requiring specialists in these 
subjects. Men are more in demand than women for some of 
these positions, but there are many women in general reference 
work. The salaries range from about $900 to $1,500 for heads 
of departments, and from $600 to $900 for assistants. 

Cataloguing. — Under this head I have included all the tech- 
nical work with books from their reception in the library to their 
placing on the shelves. 

This work demands method, accuracy, despatch, good general 
information, good "book sense," and a knowledge of foreign 
languages, the latter varying in extent and importance in differ- 
ent libraries. The work appeals to those in whom the book 
interest and sense of order and method are stronger than their 
interest in people. 

The position of head cataloguer in a large library demands 
also considerable executive ability, and commands a salary of 
from $1,000 to $2,000. In a few of the larger libraries these po- 
sitions are held by men, but cataloguing is chiefly woman's work. 
The subordinate positions command salaries of from $600 to 
$1,200. 

In 1898 a State commission was appointed in Massachusetts 



LITERARY WORK 219 

to encourage the establishment of free public libraries, and since 
then commissions have been appointed in thirty-four States. The 
commissions employ secretaries or organizers who travel about 
the State starting new libraries, reorganizing old libraries, train- 
ing the local librarians. Many of the commissions send out 
travelling libraries, conduct summer library schools, advise in the 
selection of books for the local libraries. This work is very largely 
done by women, and demands a forceful and attractive personal- 
ity, unbounded energy and enthusiasm, and the power of arousing 
enthusiasm in others, great physical endurance, and a sense of 
humor. Salaries range from $800 to $1,800, but such qualities 
cannot be paid for, and the work appeals only to those who work 
"for the joy of the working." Indeed, this is largely the case 
with all kinds of public library work. The pleasure one takes 
in congenial occupation, in work that seems supremely worth 
while, is a very large part of one's compensation. Librarians 
are underpaid: most of those who are successful could make more 
money in other ways; but they rarely care to leave their chosen 
calling. 

School and College Libraries. 

The demand for librarians in high schools is a growing one. 
The qualities needed are about those demanded of reference 
workers plus a great enthusiasm for books, since the opportunity 
for influencing the reading of the high-school pupils is incalculable. 
These positions are under the boards of education. The require- 
ments generally demand library training and some previous 
experience in library work. Salaries range from $900 to $1,200, 
but an effort is being made in Greater New York to put the high- 
school librarian's salary on a level with the teacher's. 

There is a growing realization among educators that teachers 
need a better knowledge of children's books than has been required 
of them in the past, that teachers should be more expert in lab- 
oratory methods of using books, that they should know the value 
and scope of the more important reference books, and that they 
should be able to administer school-room libraries. This realiza- 
tion has led to the demand in New York and other States that 
the study of books and of library methods be taken up in the 



220 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

normal schools. The need has therefore arisen for librarians 
who shall be able not only to administer the libraries of normal 
schools, but to give instruction along these lines. This is new 
work, but it is already of recognized importance. Experience in 
teaching, or training in a normal school as well as library train- 
ing, is needed to carry on this work successfully. 

College library work generally demands college graduation 
as well as library training for the higher positions. The libra- 
rianship in a man's college is seldom held by a woman. In co- 
educational colleges, women are sometimes librarians, and are 
invariably so in women's colleges. Even in the men's colleges 
the headship of departments, as well as reference and cataloguing 
positions, are often held by women. Salaries are a little lower, 
as a rule, than in public library work. 

Special Libraries. 

These are, as a rule, collections along certain lines, as his- 
torical libraries, libraries of learned societies, libraries of pub- 
lishing houses, business houses, insurance companies, etc. The 
work in them is largely reference work, cataloguing, and indexing, 
and there is a constantly widening field for women of good edu- 
cation and special training or special tastes in libraries of this 
sort. 

Women of quiet, bookish tastes, good language equipment, 
including Latin and Greek as well as the modern languages, and 
thorough training in cataloguing, have found congenial work 
in cataloguing private libraries, which often contain old and rare 
books. The demand for work of this sort is not so steady as for 
regular library work, but when once a reputation as an expert 
is established, one finds plenty of opportunity. Such work com- 
mands from $75 to $125 a month. 

Given a love for books, a woman can find in library work ex- 
ercise for all her tastes, faculties, and powers, and the lasting 
satisfaction that comes from doing a work that is worth while. 



LITERARY WORK 221 



LIBRARY TRAINING 

MARY ESTHER ROBBINS 

Director, Department of Library Science, Simmons College 

A number of library schools in different parts of the country 
offer by means of skilful instructors carefully planned courses in 
methods and usages proved by the experience of many librarians 
to be best adapted to carrying on the many activities of the 
modern library. These schools vary in conditions for admission, 
length of course, and consequent character and amount of instruc- 
tion. 

The oldest, best-known school is the New York State Library 
School, located at Albany, N.Y. 

The conditions for admission require that the candidate be not 
less than twenty years of age, of recognized fitness and character, 
and a graduate of a college registered by the New York State 
Education Department. The college course must have included 
at least fifteen hours a week in foreign languages, of which not less 
than three must have been in French and three in German. 

The tuition fee for the entire course is $100 to residents of 
New York State, $150 to non-residents. 

The course requires the entire time of the student throughout 
two college years. Instruction is given in library administration, 
bibliography, cataloguing, classification, book-binding, loan work, 
order and accession work, printing, and various other technical 
subjects. In addition to the time devoted to class work and prep- 
aration, carefully supervised practice in the general work of a 
library is required of each student. Successful completion of the 
course leads to the degree of Bachelor of Library Science. 

All details of information regarding the school may be obtained 
from the director, Mr. James I. Wyer, Jr. 

Other library schools, arranged chronologically by date of 
founding, are Pratt Institute Library School, Brooklyn, N.Y r ., 
Drexel Institute Library School, Philadelphia, Pa., University 
of Illinois Library School, Champaign, 111., Simmons College 



222 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

Library School, Boston, Mass., Western Reserve University- 
Library School, Cleveland, Ohio, Library Training School of the 
Carnegie Library of Atlanta, Ga., Wisconsin Library School, 
Madison, Wis., Indiana Library School, Indianapolis, Ind., Syra- 
cuse University Library School, Syracuse, N.Y., and the Carnegie 
Library Training School for Children's Librarians, Pittsburg, Pa. 

The University of Illinois Library School is a regular school of 
the university. Candidates for admission must present ninety- 
eight hours of credit in university work, including the subjects 
prescribed for graduation from the College of Literature and Arts 
or the College of Science. These credits may have been secured 
at Illinois or at some other institution of equal standing. 

The annual tuition fee is $12 for each of the two semesters. 
There is also a matriculating fee of $5. 

A course of two years of technical library work is given, includ- 
ing both required subjects and electives. The successful com- 
pletion of the course leads to the degree of B.L.S. Students have 
practical work in both the library of the University of Illinois and 
the Champaign Public Library. 

Added details of information may be obtained from the director, 
Mr. P. L. Windsor. 

Applicants for admission to the Library School of Pratt Insti- 
tute must pass examinations in literature, history, current events, 
French, and German. As the number of students is limited, those 
candidates showing the best preparation and fitness are selected. 
Applicants must be at least twenty years old. Persons over 
thirty-five are advised against undertaking the work. 

The tuition fee is $75 each year. The incidental expenses, in- 
cluding supplies and the vacation trip to visit libraries, average 
from $55 to $60. 

Two courses are given, a general course and an advanced 
course, each covering one college year. Each is independent of 
the other, but the advanced course requires for admission the 
equivalent of the general course. In addition to training in tech- 
nical library methods, instruction is given in appraisal of fiction, 
modern continental literature, and technical French, German, 
and Italian. Because of the nearness of the school to the great 
library collections in New York, the students have unusual 



LITERARY WORK 223 

opportunity to study the cataloguing^ of incunabula, history of 
printing, and Latin paleography. Certificates are awarded on 
the satisfactory completion of either of the prescribed courses. 

Requests for information should be addressed to the director, 
Miss Mary W. Plummer. 

Those wishing to enter the Library School of Drexel Institute 
must pass tests in general literature, general history, general 
information, and languages. A limited number of students are 
selected from those presenting the best qualifications. 

The tuition fee is $50 for the year, with an additional sum of 
from $15 to $20 for necessary materials. 

The course covers one college year. Instruction is given in 
cataloguing, library economy, studies of books and authors, 
reference work and bibliography, library history and extension, 
and the history of books and printing. Certificates are given to 
those completing satisfactorily the whole course. 

All inquiries should be addressed to the director, Miss J. R. 
Donnelly. 

Simmons College Library School offers two regular programs. 
Undergraduate candidates must have graduated from a high 
school or have had equivalent preparation, and must present such 
subjects for admission as are usually required by academic col- 
leges, with the addition of arithmetic. The subjects may be 
offered either by certificate or examinations. To these students 
instruction is given in library training and selected academic 
subjects, in parallel courses, throughout four college years. On 
those who finish the entire course satisfactorily the degree of 
Bachelor of Science is conferred. Graduates of other colleges, 
showing fitness for library work, pursue a one-year program made 
up chiefly of technical library subjects. In addition to this year 
of study, six months of acceptable work in some library and a 
thesis must be presented by a candidate desiring the degree of 
Bachelor of Science. 

The tuition is $100 for each year. Necessary supplies and books 
cost from $15 to $30. Board and room in the college dormitories 
may be obtained for from $260 to $300 a year. 

For added information address the director, Miss Mary E. 
Robbins. 



224 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

Applicants for admission to Western Reserve Library School 
are required to pass entrance examinations in general literature, 
general history, current information, and in two languages, one 
of which must be modern. Previous education, experience, and 
personal qualities are also considered in selecting the members of 
the class. Persons under twenty and over thirty -five years of 
age, who have had no library experience, are not usually admitted 
to the class. 

The tuition fee is $100. There is no matriculation fee, but a 
graduation fee of $5 is charged. 

The course extends over one college year, and gives a foundation 
for general library work. A certificate is given on the satisfactory 
completion of the course. The school is fortunate in its location. 
The students are admitted free of charge to classes and lectures 
in Western Reserve University, and have opportunities for an 
unusual variety of practical library work in connection with the 
University Library, the large Public Library of Cleveland, and 
the many special libraries in the city. 

Miss Julia M. Whittlesey is the director. 

The Library Training School of the Carnegie Library of At- 
lanta, formerly known as the Southern Library School, re- 
quires a high-school education, or its equivalent, as a prepara- 
tion for the entrance examinations. The class is limited to ten 
students each year. 

There is neither matriculation nor tuition fee. 

A general course in library methods is given, extending through 
one school year. While especial attention is given to the admin- 
istration of the small library, graduates of the school are enabled 
to take positions in large institutions. 

For full information address Miss Julia T. Rankin, director. 

The Wisconsin Library School at Madison is entered by com- 
petitive examinations held in June of each year. Tests are given 
in history, general literature, and general information. Accepted 
candidates who offer no library experience must spend at least 
one month in practical work in a designated library before the 
school opens in September. 

Two courses are offered, the library course and the joint uni- 
versity and library course. Students in the library course give 



LITERARY WORK 225 

their entire time throughout two college years to the technical 
library instruction. Upon successful completion of the course, 
with the addition of two months of practical work in an approved 
library, a certificate of graduation is given. The joint university 
and library course permits a student of the University of Wis- 
consin to offer toward his degree of Bachelor of Arts not less than 
twenty unit-hour courses of library work, these courses to be taken 
during his Junior and Senior years. The technical courses are 
much the same as those given in the other library schools. All 
students become familiar with the many library activities centred 
in Madison. 

The tuition fee for the entire library course for resident students 
is $50, for non-resident students, $80. For resident university 
students there is no tuition fee, for non-residents it is $15 a 
semester. 

The director is Matthew S. Dudgeon. 

The Indiana Library School gives entrance examinations in 
general literature, general history, general information and cur- 
rent events, and requires a reading knowledge of French and 
German. 

The course covers one school year. Instruction is given in 
"subjects required by American Library Association standards. 
Particular attention is paid to children's reading and work with 
schools." Certificates are given for satisfactory work. 

The tuition fee is $100. 

Added information will be given by Miss Merica Hoagland, 
director. 

Syracuse University Library School offers three courses, as 
follows : — 

"A. A two years' technical course for college graduates, lead- 
ing to the degree of Bachelor of Library Science. 

"B. A four years' combined academic and technical course, 
leading to the degree of Bachelor of Library Economy. 

"C. A two years' technical certificate course." 

For admission to course A, candidates must be graduates of 
academic colleges of approved standing. In courses B and C the 
same credentials are required as for matriculation in the philo- 
sophical or classical courses of the College of Liberal Arts, Syra- 



226 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

cuse University. In course C students must also be at least 
eighteen years of age, and must remove all entrance conditions 
before beginning technical work. The entering class is limited 
to twenty-five. Choice of students will be decided by merit. 

Tuition for the four years' course is $37.50 each semester; for 
the two years' courses, $30 each semester. A deposit of $15 for 
books and supplies is required at the beginning of the first year of 
technical work, and $10 at the beginning of the second year. A 
library trip costing from $30 to $50 is required during the second 
year of technical work. The fee for graduation and diploma is 
$20; for the certificate, $5. 

Professor Mary J. Sibley is the director. 

The only library school which confines its instruction to one 
phase of library work is the Carnegie Library Training School 
for Children's Librarians at Pittsburg. Those wishing information 
as to entrance requirements and courses should write to the direc- 
tor, Frances J. Olcott. 

Brief six weeks' courses are given each summer by New York 
State Library School, at Chautauqua, N.Y., by Simmons College, 
and under the auspices of several of the State Commissions. 
These courses are open only to those holding library positions or 
under appointment for such positions. 

The schools located in large cities offer opportunity for visiting 
many typical libraries, museums, and similar institutions, giving 
valuable suggestions to the thoughtful student. 

No recognized library school gives definite promise of positions 
to its graduates, but thus far general experience proves that there 
are constant demands for properly prepared library workers. 

The salaries received by graduates of library schools vary from 
$50 a month to $75 or $80 at the start. The equipment and ex- 
perience of the individual and the geographical location of the 
library cause the variation. 



LITERARY WORK 227 



NEWSPAPER WORK FOR WOMEN 

GERTRUDE L. MARVIN 

Wellesley Fellow, Reseabch Department, Women's Educational and Industrial 

Union. 

The term "newspaper work" usually suggests the reporting 
and editing of a paper, although there are two other very impor- 
tant departments, the mechanical and the business. Only the 
news end will be considered in this report. The news end has 
numerous dignified and desirable positions, which, if they were 
attainable for women, would offer a most desirable goal. There 
are the managing, and city and desk, and day and night editors, 
whose work ranges from keeping the paper closely in line with the 
policy laid down by the owners and the interests of the busi- 
ness office to reading the copy turned in by reporters all day 
long. 

The news is divided between two fields, — local and foreign. 
The city editor has charge of all local news, that is, within a radius 
of about twenty miles. He keeps a big book, called the "assign- 
ment" book, and in it are recorded, weeks and months ahead, 
coming events of public and general private interest. Keeping 
this book, which involves knowing where and when news events 
are going to occur and how to get at them, is the city editor's 
chief responsibility; nothing should escape him. Through a large 
circle of acquaintance, a thorough knowledge of the city and 
every section thereof, and through careful and constant reading 
of the newspapers, he must know everything that is going on 
which has news value, from the big conventions to the small 
personal items. The city editor, then, must be primarily a man 
among men. He must not only know all sorts of people, but he 
must make them like him enough to let him know when some- 
thing is going to happen. His salary, on the five papers investi- 
gated, ranges from $1,820 to $4,000 per year, with an average of 
$2,412. 

Co-ordinate in rank with the city editor are the desk men, the 
day and night editors, whose work must always be discriminat- 



228 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

ing, although most of it comes pell-mell at the last minute. The 
city editor's responsibility for the news usually ends with know- 
ing about it beforehand, and assigning it on the proper day to the 
right reporter. The desk man's begins when the reporter comes 
dashing in from the scene of activities, and sitting down at his 
desk, rattles off on the long sheets of yellow copy paper an account 
of what has happened. The desk man glances through the mass 
of copy, divines its gist, and hands it over to one of his assistants, 
with instructions as to editing, before it goes to the composing- 
room to be set up in type. As the time for going to press ap- 
proaches, the copy pours in faster and faster, the composing-room 
signals up that the paper is already overset, and yet perhaps now, 
at the last minute, an item of first importance in the whole day's 
events comes in, and must be made room for. In the midst of all 
this clamor the desk man must keep his head, racing through the 
piles of copy, weighing its merits as discriminately and giving 
as cool and careful decisions as though he had all the leisure and 
quiet in the world. The desk men's salaries, on five papers, 
range from $936 to $3,000 a year, averaging $1,900. 

A good deal of the responsibility in important lines which re- 
quire a first-hand day to day familiarity is delegated to specialists. 
Thus we have the financial editor, the political, sporting, dramatic, 
and musical men. These special editors are really more reporters 
than editors. The editor sits at his desk and edits the news 
which is brought in, while the reporter goes out on assignments 
which are given him. A special editor combines the two functions 
by being entirely responsible for the organization of his own field 
and by covering it as far as possible in person. The best of these 
positions are, perhaps, the most desirable on the newspaper staff, 
for while escaping the continued, draining responsibility of the 
editors and the necessity for constant work at highest possible 
pressure, they give the opportunity to pick and choose, to take 
the most interesting assignments and leave the drudgery and the 
routine stories to the "call men." 

These special editors deal intimately with the most active 
and spectacular phases of public life. The political man is 
obviously important, because the parties depend so much on the 
support of their newspapers. There are usually several special 



LITERARY WORK, 229 

reporters assigned to the various lines of ^public activity, one man 
for State politics, another for city, a man at the State House, 
others at the courts and City Hall. At Police Headquarters there 
are men on duty continually throughout the entire twenty-four 
hours. The fields of literary, dramatic, and musical criticism also 
have their specialists, connoisseurs on these subjects, men who 
have gained their experience as college professors, writers, organ- 
ists, painters, and who are fortunate enough to combine the 
triple gifts, — command of their own art, critical ability, and faculty 
of expression. At almost the other extreme of popular interest 
are the sports, with specialists on baseball, football, yachting, 
golf, sparring, automobiles, horses, college and school athletics. 
Other lines which are so constantly active as to require the atten- 
tion of a special man are the water front, railroads, suburban 
correspondents, and exchanges. Responsibility in these positions 
varies with the character of the paper and the temporary impor- 
tance of the department. 

After the news instinct, which is the first requisite for every 
newspaper man, it is very essential that these special editors 
should be "good mixers,'* men whom other men like and trust, 
who are good fellows all the way through, from being apt story- 
tellers to respecting a confidence. Only by gaining a reputation 
for discretion and conscientiousness can a man hope to work his 
way up to reporting that counts, among important people who, 
knowing that they can trust him, will give him tips and informa- 
tion in advance, to be released at a certain hour. The Associated 
Press, for instance, gets the reports of executive committees and 
special documents hours and sometimes several days before even 
the legislative bodies hear the results. Some special editors draw 
salaries running up to $75 and $100 per week, while the majority 
of special editors probably average between $30 and $40. 

This leaves only one other important position, — that of rewrite 
man, who is found on four of the papers visited. He does a special- 
ized work formerly included in the duties of the general reporter. 
More and more to-day the literary part of the reporter's work is 
being turned over to the news desk, where sit half a dozen rewrite 
men, who are the literary force of the paper. As the copy comes 
in, the news editor or desk man glances through it, and tosses it 



230 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

over to one of them with directions. It may be a rambling tale 
of 1,000 words, and "make that a 50-word item," in which 
every one of the essential features shall be included; or it may be 
a hasty dashing down of 100 bare words of names and places 
and facts, for which the public are all eager, and "work it over 
into a 2,000-word story." Then, consistently with the degree 
of sensationalism in which his paper indulges, the rewrite man 
selects the most thrilling or touching or important element in 
the story, and features it, putting into it as much sympathy and 
human interest as he is capable. The New York Sun has the 
best rewrite men in the country, and their salaries range up to 
and over $100 per week, but on any paper a good rewrite man is 
worth from $30 up. The demands of this position, however, are 
tremendous, for besides inexhaustible originality in clever devices 
and telling droll tales, besides great versatility in the use of humor, 
satire, and description, the rewrite man must be well posted on 
current affairs and conditions in every possible field from a foot- 
ball game to a dressmakers' convention. He must recognize at 
once, in a mass of copy, the essential parts of the story, know the 
technical terms of that line, and how to use them. 

These higher editorial and reportorial positions have decided 
attractions. But there are serious drawbacks in them for women. 
All the editors and newspaper women interviewed feel strongly 
that the high nervous strain under which the editors must work, 
especially in the last hour before the paper goes to press, would 
wear a woman out in a short time. It is a maelstrom of hurry 
and anxiety, and for the man at the top, of intense responsibility, 
which all the people who know it seem to feel that no mere out- 
sider can even faintly conceive without experience. Woman's 
ability to control such situations is, of course, a matter of 
opinion, but newspaper people themselves doubt it, and point 
to the fact that there are no women holding such positions in 
Boston. 

The nervous strain which the desk editors and rewrite men in 
the news-room particularly feel, does not so especially apply to 
the work of the special reporter and editor, but here there is another 
handicap for women and fully as great a one. It is the difficulty 
of being unable to keep in touch with the men who are doing the 



LITERARY WORK 231 

world's work and who command public attention. Of the six 
editors interviewed, five agreed that the average man's prejudice 
against talking to a woman seriously or trusting her with im- 
portant information would prove a serious handicap to a woman. 
This would apply especially to political, financial, military, and 
water-front news. There is also a large amount of scandal and 
murder news that would be so disagreeable as to deter a woman 
from having anything to do with it. 

These objections do not apply to the critic's work, but perhaps 
the reason which one prominent critic gave for there being practi- 
cally no women critics may be more broadly applied to the whole 
field. He says that in all his years of experience he has never 
found a girl reporter whom he could trust even enough to train. 
He thinks that perhaps the clever, discriminating woman, capable 
of doing serious work, is too ambitious and able in her own line 
to find it worth while to settle down to the necessary apprentice- 
ship. Unwillingness to put up with inconveniences and particu- 
larly disagreeable conditions may very possibly deter many clever 
women, who by reason of their literary ability would naturally 
be attracted to newspaper work as an opportunity for writing. 
For, with the exception of special concessions occasionally made 
to some man or woman of established reputation in his art or 
profession, who may do part-time work at his own convenience, 
newspapers lay down fairly strenuous and exacting conditions for 
their apprentices. 

Reporter "on call" is the only position on any of these papers 
open to the inexperienced candidate, and such reporting is very 
different from the work of the special experienced man that has 
already been described. The hours are long and irregular. On 
a morning paper they run from one in the afternoon to midnight, 
usually, with an occasional evening off. But the free evenings can 
never be counted on in advance: they come only when the news 
happens to be slack. On the afternoon papers the hours are 
almost as bad, for, while they are only supposed to be from half- 
past eight or nine to five, an assignment will very often come in 
at the last minute that will keep the reporter out until midnight. 
This means no freedom whatever. The irregular hours also affect 
the meals. An assignment often takes the reporter out into the 



232 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

suburbs for hours at a stretch, where restaurants are unheard of 
and where one can only work ahead as fast as possible in order 
to get back to town. It means all kinds of weather, too, for 
suicides and elopements will occur, be it fair day or foul, in 
houses several miles from the nearest car track, and they have 
to be looked up at once. A long, hard trip like this is not only 
an every-day matter, but it means no extra pay. Some papers 
start their reporters with mere expenses, — that is, car-fare and 
telephone fees, — then, if they seem promising, they are taken on 
the staff at an initial salary of $6, $8, or $10. One paper pays 
$12 to start, but it usually secures reporters who have served 
their apprenticeship on other papers. Some papers pay only for 
space work at first, — that is, about two cents a line for every 
line printed; but as the desk usually cuts the stories in two or 
even more, this makes a meagre salary, unless the beginner has 
real ability and can turn in acceptable copy from the start. 

Every newspaper man interviewed asserted with great emphasis 
that the essential requisite for success, be it as young reporter 
or experienced editor, is the news instinct. This instinct, or 
"nose for news," is a rather mysterious quality. The six editors 
interviewed agreed that it is an innate quality, and one which, 
not inborn, can never be developed. Moreover, they also agreed 
that one can never judge of its presence by appearances. Some- 
times the most unpromising material will manifest it from the 
start, and again a most capable man in other respects will lack it. 
It is ability to recognize news in whatever form or disguise, and 
news is anything with sufficient significance to interest the public. 
As the public is about the most complex thing in the world, it 
may be interested from a variety of standpoints, and it is the man 
who is big enough to recognize human interest in any guise, who 
can get away from himself and his little personal point of view, 
that will recognize news possibilities in trivial items. 

Besides this, there is an element of luck which scarcely bears 
analysis, but certain it is that some of the big reporters always 
seem to be in places just when something happens. This is the 
instinct part, half occult, and a little exaggerated perhaps; but 
on Newspaper Row there are remarkable instances of men who 
do have the luck, who again and again, wherever they happened 



LITERARY WORK 233 

to go, have been just in time to witness and write brilliant records 
of the world's great events, — earthquakes, conflagrations, and 
riots. The significant point here, however, is the opinion gener- 
ally held by newspaper people that women, almost without 
exception, lack the news instinct. The editors say that they 
have not the detective spirit, they do not get around quickly 
enough to make brilliant "scoops." Their forte is and has been 
writing human interest stories, weaving a web of romance about 
some little news item, the work which is now chiefly handed over 
to the rewrite men. But the rewrite man must have such a com- 
bination of news instinct to recognize the essentials of some long 
story, and ability to write fast and well, even brilliantly, under 
tremendous pressure at the eleventh hour, that, as the name 
implies, no women are doing this work. 

Not only, then, does the disagreeable nature of the apprentice- 
ship deter a woman from attempting it, but she is not, in the opin- 
ion of all the editors interviewed, very valuable for the work, after 
all. In fact, of these six editors, three said flatly that there was 
no desirable opening for women on their papers, while the other 
three, who asserted that there was an opening, admitted that they 
consider a position with a maximum possible salary of $18 to $20 
a week a desirable opening "for a woman." 

Woman's present position on seven Boston papers is of interest. 
Of 2,092 employees, 45 are women, and of this 45, 26 are doing 
the usual stenographic and cashier work. Only 19 are employed 
in the news end, as contrasted with approximately 472 men re- 
porters, editors, and correspondents. Of responsible positions as 
editors and special reporters, there are about 228, and men are 
holding every one of them. Women are, in fact, limited to four 
classes of subordinate positions. Two of the positions held by 
women are referred to as editors, — the society editor and the 
woman's page editor. They were not described with the leading 
positions, however, because they are so very much inferior in 
importance, prestige, and pay. Ten women are regular reporters, 
taking assignments as they come in, and doing approximately the 
same work as the inexperienced men reporters "on call." Five 
women are special reporters, being reserved for occasions such as 
society affairs, conventions, and meetings of women's clubs and 



234 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

religious organizations. Two women are society editors, and the 
remaining two do miscellaneous work of a general woman's page 
nature. 

The editor of the woman's page is usually a woman. She must 
have originality and ingenuity to devise new attractions for her 
page, to respond to popular interest with various columns of 
housekeeping hints, ethical reflections, or advice to the lovelorn. 
She must be seasonable with directions for putting away woollens 
in the spring and filling up chinks in the windows as the winter 
approaches. She must read the papers, listen to people and note 
the currents of public attention, get interviews with some popular 
woman, — actress or lecturer, — give pictures of some hotel or other 
business concern run by women. This is not a high order of 
literary labor, as one realizes when one reads these women's 
pages, though it is undoubtedly capable of development. We 
must realize that these pages are all in response to popular de- 
mand. Some wise woman, alive to possibilities, may eventually 
recognize and develop this direct path of influence and commu- 
nication with the public. With a minimum outlay of time and 
money, this page might carry into thousands of homes the very 
messages for which settlements and district nurses and churches 
and hospitals are organizing classes, — the fundamental facts of 
housewifery and motherhood, cleanliness, diet for infants, the 
care of tuberculosis in the home; or, reaching out to another type 
of reader, might persistently mould the opinions of the more en- 
lightened on saner ethical principles than are now found in advice 
columns. Although one managing editor and the woman's page 
editor of another paper were very sanguine as to the possibilities 
of the page, the opportunity is not generally recognized, and the 
position is as yet by no means one of importance. 

Akin to the woman's page is the special work for the Sunday 
papers, and there are probably more women engaged in this 
department than in any other branch. It is, however, impossible 
to give any statistics about them, as the "Sunday Magazine" 
is space work paid for at from $5 to $8 per column, and the con- 
tributors are not members of the staff, but free lances, sending 
in what they like, when they like, often working for two or three 
papers at a time. They are absolutely independent in their 



LITERARY WORK 235 

hours. As to subject-matter, they must consider the public, 
and give it what it wants. The society editor, when the paper 
has one, is always a woman, and she is a familiar figure to almost 
everybody. Perhaps it is not generally realized, however, that 
she is held in no higher regard in her own office than among the 
people whom she drags, unwilling victims, into print. As one 
editor said, the society editor has a disagreeable job. She must 
have years of training to know every one in society and to find the 
leaky channels on which she can depend for news. During this 
training she must become absolutely hardened, willing to forego 
people's confidence, to use her friends one and all, to sacrifice 
everything to her one purpose of getting the gossipy news into 
print first. 

Such are the positions to which women are limited. The pay 
varies with the paper, the individual ability of the woman, and 
her years of experience, but the maximum for all these positions on 
any of the six papers is $35 a week. In the cases of fifteen re- 
porters the minimum salary was $8, the maximum $35, and the 
average $18. The two society editors averaged $26, and the two 
woman's page editors $14. $18 means, probably, the high-water 
mark that the average newspaper woman in Boston can hope 
to achieve. There are rumors of phenomenal salaries on New 
York papers to popular special story writers, but they seem 
to be rare and a matter of luck, due rather to the happy accident 
of making a temporary hit with the fickle public than to either 
brilliance or hard work. There are also stories of prominent 
magazine writers and novelists who gained their first experience 
in newspaper work, and some of the young girl reporters talk of 
"working up into magazine writing," but they point out no 
predecessors here in Boston, and their ambitions are very in- 
definite. 

Finally, what conclusions shall we draw as to the desirability 
of newspaper work for women? We are met by three grave 
handicaps, — the present difficulty of mingling on an equal footing 
with men of affairs and the consequent difficulty of getting the 
news from them; the physical strain of the high-pressure work 
necessary for rushing a modern successful sheet into press, which 
debars all but women of iron physique; and, lastly, the obstacles 



236 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

at the start and the limit to promotion. Entering Newspaper 
Row, as it is organized to-day, with a determination to win 
success, almost necessarily involves breaking down certain funda- 
mental standards of womanhood and of the dignity and reserve 
which belong to it which may better be preserved. 



A MORE HOPEFUL OUTLOOK IN NEWSPAPER WORK 

AGNES E. RYAN 

The special discouragements peculiar to journalism for women 
are said to be two: (1) the long, laborious, unpleasant apprentice- 
ship as news-gatherer or reporter; and (2) the lack of good posi- 
tions of any kind open to them after the long apprenticeship has 
been faithfully served. 

These two dampers on the profession for women are usually 
treated as inevitable, and brave, indeed, or inspired, or mad must 
the woman be who persists in the face of them. Six years' ex- 
perience in the various phases of "literary work," however, my 
deepest convictions from 1902 up to date, and the present out- 
look for women journalists prompt me to say (1) the reporter's 
thorny path is not the only road to journalism for women, and 
(2) a society column and an inane woman's page in which a 
woman of brains, ideals, and common sense must inevitably 
write down to other women as though they could have no brains, 
sense, nor ideals, are not the necessary and only goals at the end 
of the long road. The first statement I shall have to substantiate 
from my own experience. I can perhaps best demonstrate the 
second by calling attention to certain conditions observable in the 
newspaper and periodical world to-day, and by asking readers 
to note the changes taking place there and to read their signifi- 
cance. 

When I started out in 1903 to earn my living, I was bent on 
becoming a writer. I was not well equipped for anything. I 
certainly had no training to fit me for journalism, I knew no jour- 
nalist whom I could consult, and nothing but discouragement 



LITERARY WORK 237 

was given me in answer to questions aoout the only profession 
which attracted me. Graduation over, however, I entered upon 
a position at the very foot of the literary ladder. The position 
was with a struggling magazine which offered me a literary ap- 
prenticeship, "prospects," and $4 a week. This may seem a 
meagre beginning, but the experience there was invaluable. It 
included folding circulars and press sheets, addressing countless 
envelopes, making out bills, doing all kinds of clerical work in a 
very dirty office, and later going over all the newspapers that 
came to the office for our advertisement and the notices of our 
magazine. Handling the papers from all over the country for 
even this purpose gave me some necessary acquaintance with 
papers in general, and the best ones I took home with me at 
night for study. 

After a time I was given magazine articles, stories, poems, 
recipes, household hints, and prize contributions to read with 
a view to publication. To be allowed to do this kind of work 
was encouraging, especially as my judgment as manuscript reader 
was found to be good. Next I was initiated into the mysteries 
of "making up" the large press-sheets which we sent out each 
month. Then came a taste of proof-reading. The editor did 
all the proof-reading on the whole magazine, and the two days' 
training he gave me in reading copy and catching errors on the 
proof -sheets opened up a new phase of literary work. When I 
saw how essential good proof-reading is to the magazine editor, 
I decided to perfect myself in the profession as soon as possible. 
I accordingly drew from the library a proof-reader's manual and 
studied it diligently. 

Lest I give the impression that all this valuable experience in 
the editorial rooms was altogether satisfactory, I must say that 
for every day's experience beyond the purely clerical I fought 
hard, and that, though my work grew in volume and importance, 
and though it was granted that I had ability, I was unable to get 
more than $5 a week. This was discouraging, but it was 
not so bad as the prospects, for there was no denying the fact 
that I was not needed in the editorial department, and while I 
might stay there indefinitely, there was no hope that I would 
ever get more than $7 a week. As I was obliged to earn more 



238 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

than that, I tried to get another position. When I had tried 
in vain for months, I grew desperate, gave up my work there, 
and set out to get a position elsewhere. In a few days I found 
a chance to become a proof-reader in a large publishing house. 
Here I learned to set type and read proof on a very high grade of 
books for eight months. 

While holding my first position, I had two articles published 
which brought me friends. The result was that two positions 
were offered me in the same week. One was a better position 
as proof-reader: the other was a semi-editorial position with 
better hours, more pay, more agreeable work, better prospects. 
I took the second position, of course, and in it had nearly three 
years of valuable work. Here all my college training and the 
experience gained in the other two offices stood me in good stead. 
Besides some clerical work, I read proof, prepared manuscript 
for the printer, edited both book and magazine manuscripts, had 
charge of all book and magazine manuscripts that came to the 
house, did about a third of all first reading on book manuscripts, 
wrote for some of our publications, and did a good deal of writ- 
ing for other publications. The rest of what may be called my 
apprenticeship has been spent in proof-reading, editing and re- 
vising long book manuscripts, and in various kinds of writing. 
Two newspaper positions have recently been offered me, one at 
$30 a week, with opportunity for editorial writing at about $10 
a week extra pay. 

While the road I have travelled has been neither short nor 
smooth, it is a great improvement on the typical reporter's path. 
I have not been badly treated, the hours have not been hard, the 
pay only $16 maximum, but the interest and enjoyment keen, 
and the range of experience broad and valuable. In addition to 
the several positions with publishing houses there has scarcely 
been a week in which I have not furnished copy to some weekly 
or daily. 

Though my experience has not been so hard as is said to be the 
lot of the beginner usually, it has been much harder than the lot 
of the beginner need be again. Fortunately, conditions under 
which a beginner prepares for journalism have greatly changed. 
More teachers and editors realize that journalists need training, 



LITERARY WORK 239 

and courses of journalism have been introduced into the cur- 
ricula of several colleges in this country.* Now the girl who 
wants to become a journalist begins early in her college course to 
make all her work at college contribute toward fitting her for this 
calling. She chooses those courses which give her the broadest 
knowledge of life and which give her practice in writing. She 
works on the journalism course as though her daily bread de- 
pended upon the quality of her work in this preparatory course; 
and she gets connection with some daily or weekly paper which 
will accept and pay for good paragraphs of real news value. Col- 
lege news, educational news of all kinds, religious news, make a 
good beginning and are at hand. While in college, any girl who 
expects to become a journalist should earn at least $1 a week by 
actual newspaper work, whether on a large daily or a small 
country weekly. This will mean car-fares, at least, and the ex- 
perience to be gained from regular work on a country newspaper 
of even the poorest type is not to be despised. Club news, so- 
ciety news, church and school news, local news of every descrip- 
tion, is in constant demand; and while the pay is small for even 
good work, the experience is invaluable, for here as well as any- 
where else one learns what news is, how to get it, how to tell it, 
how to deal with people, how to deal with editors; one gets ac- 
quainted with newspapers, their contents, character, methods, 
and in time one comes to study the newspaper world with a view 
to what it has to offer. 

And what it has to offer to-day is not what it offered 
fifty years ago, a decade ago, or even five years ago. The news- 
paper world is undergoing changes. The number of newspapers 
and periodicals started, the changes in columns, departments, 
and pages, the general upward tendency, are significant. A deal 



* University of Missouri at Columbia. Tuition is free. The cost of living in 
Columbia is from $3 to $5 a week. 

University of Wisconsin at Madison. Tuition is free to residents of the State 
The cost of living near the university is from $3.50 to $5 per week. 

Boston University course started in 1908, open to Juniors, Seniors, graduate 
and special students. For regular students the journalism course is covered by 
the regular tuition, which is $125 per year. Special students may take the course 
for $9 per semester. 



240 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

of journalism of particular interest to women is being produced. 
Women readers of all classes of papers are now forces to be reck- 
oned with as never before. Women are passing through an impor- 
tant transition: they are changing and growing. A new order of 
woman is being evolved, and a new order of journalism must be 
provided for them. Consider the Peggies, the Ella Wheeler 
Wilcoxes, the Beatrice Fairfaxes, the Mildred Champaignes, the 
Nancy Lees, the Margaret Lanes, the Listeners, the Chatterers in 
Boston. They are innovations in journalism within the memory 
of the newest girl graduate. We may scorn them, smile at 
them, refuse to read them, but they are with us and they are 
significant to women. Bad as they are or good as they are, they 
are not the end, and there will be more of them, not less. Con- 
sider the women writers of the country, the authors of books, 
the writers for all classes of magazines and papers: they have 
proved themselves as contributors and writers and journalists. 
Only the beginning in journalism has been made by women, and 
as great a revolution is taking place in this as in most other phases 
of life in which the women of to-day are concerned. 

Present-day tendencies in journalism mean three things of 
importance to women journalists: (1) that women themselves 
are growing and demand better papers; (2) that there is a growing 
demand for women writers, who alone can furnish the new and 
better journalism for women; and (3) that a trivial society column 
or a sentimental woman's page is no longer the highest goal which 
a sensible woman journalist may hope to attain. A high-grade, 
uplifting woman's page, which men as well as women may read 
with profit, a page requiring more ability, more character, higher 
ideals, greater faith in women, greater expectations for women 
than have been seen, is the logical outcome of the near future. 
It is the journalism which is surely on the way, and for which it is 
worth while for women journalists to prepare. 



LITERARY WORK 241 

FREE LANCING IN NEW YORK 
MINNIE J. REYNOLDS 

Independent writers, attached to no publication, are called 
free lances in the newspaper world. The magazine sections of 
the Sunday papers over the country are very largely supplied 
from New York through newspaper syndicates. This syndicate 
matter and the magazine sections of the New York Sunday 
papers — or the Saturday editions of the evening papers — are 
supplied very largely by the free lances. The free lance also sends 
some material direct to outside papers, sometimes syndicating 
articles of his own among them, does occasional assignments 
for the city editors, and every now and then places a story in the 
periodical press. He sells poetry, jokes, short fiction, special 
articles, news items, and photographs. His old, reliable, and 
steady market is the Sunday paper. 

Regular rates of payment in this paper run from $5 to $10 
a column, and a column contains about 1,000 words. Special 
articles, for which special bargains are made, command much 
more, — sometimes several hundreds of dollars. The novice must 
base his calculations of a possible income, however, on the regular 
rates. 

It is quite impossible to estimate this income, for it depends 
entirely on each individual. It may be said in general, however, 
that it is a comparatively easy thing for a very ordinary writer 
with very ordinary industry to make $1,000 a year free lancing 
in New York. It is a very easy and a very speedy matter to 
write a thousand words. It is not a matter of time or difficulty 
to get the material to fill a thousand words. The crux of the 
matter comes in knowing what sort of material to get, how to get 
it, and where to sell it. If a writer knows this, he never need 
ask anybody for a job: his living is always in his hands in New 
York. 

A thousand dollars a year is mere poverty in New York City, 
as any one who has tried it knows. When, however, one re- 



242 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

fleets that the women teachers in the grades of the New York 
schools must begin for $600 a year, that after they have taught 
thirteen years they get only $1,120, and that to command this 
sum the teacher must have had what amounts to six years of 
previous professional training, must have passed a stiff examina- 
tion and then substituted a while before she got an appointment, — 
and that men teaching the same grades get from $300 to $1,000 
more than she, — it becomes apparent that, as women's occupations 
go, free lancing is not to be despised. 

Any success in free lancing commonly demands previous ex- 
perience on a newspaper staff, either in New York or in some 
other city. I do not see, however, why persons should not suc- 
ceed without it. If a person can write, he can write, whether he 
learned how on a newspaper or not. Writing for the Sunday 
papers is not reporting, which can be learned only on a staff. 
It is far more like magazine writing. The magazines and the 
Sunday papers grow more like each other every year, as the name 
"magazine section" indicates. One who can write for the Sunday 
papers may never be a reporter, but if he is successful he will, 
after a time, begin to write for the magazines. 

Two little tales of two women who came to New York to free 
lance may prove more useful than general maxims. One ar- 
rived in the city in summer, unacquainted with a soul in it. She 
was on the verge of nervous prostration, she had no good clothes, 
no good looks, and it was with extreme difficulty that she could 
be civil to anybody. Consequently she made no friends. 
She had no job, and she did not want one. She had left a good 
job because she felt she must have a change. Nevertheless, she 
made her board and lodging the first week she was in New York 
with one thousand words sold to the Sunday Sun. And she made 
more than $1,000 that year, an amount which she steadily in- 
creased for several years until she reached what was apparently 
her limit. 

This woman had had eight years' experience on a morning daily 
in a city of some 200,000 inhabitants. In addition she studied 
the New York Sunday papers — all of them — as she would have 
studied to take a degree. The first month she was in the city she 
took in $32, which was exactly enough to pay her landlady. The 



LITERARY WORK 243 

next month she took in $35. But the next month her receipts 
suddenly jumped to over $100. Manifestly, she could not write 
any better in August than in June, nor so well, for it was hotter. 
But she had begun to learn what the editors of the various papers 
would buy. 

The experience of the second woman proves that it is not neces- 
sary to know how to write in order to free lance in New York. 
She could not write the simplest paragraph without making a mis- 
take as to fact; and her writing was dull and commonplace in 
style. She had, however, other advantages. She was abnor- 
mally industrious and abnormally charming. Every one who knew 
her liked her, and would give her material. She knew many 
editors, and slipped easily into their sanctums to discuss ideas for 
stories. Consequently, when they wanted special stories, they 
naturally thought of her. Beyond all this she had one true and 
very important professional quality. Her mind was an idea mill, 
amazingly productive of subjects for articles which commended 
themselves to editors. She not only knew what the editors would 
buy, but she could supply them with ideas they had not thought 
of. She had an instant and amazing success as a free lance in 
New York. 

The point of view from which the free lance is regarded varies 
diametrically with temperament. Some people instinctively 
desire a niche in one of the established institutions of society, — 
the schools, the church, the organized charities, some great vested 
interest. When they know that this is behind them, they feel con- 
tent and safe. They feel themselves part of a great institution, 
their income is fixed and assured, and they are suited. Such 
persons never believe a free lance when she says she does not 
want a position. The true free lance, however, would not take 
any job at the same money she earns without it. It would have 
to be better to tempt her. She does not like to keep office hours, 
to work under orders, or feel herself a cog in some great revolving 
wheel. She prefers to work "on her own," as the doctor, the 
lawyer, the dentist, or the artist, does. She dislikes the idea of 
a direct employer. She accepts the greater freedom of indepen- 
dent work as compensation for the greater uncertainty of income, 
although, as a matter of fact, the income of the free lance who has 



244 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

once gained her footing preserves a stability which is very curious, 
considering that she never knows where it is coming from. 

For a novice who contemplates free lancing the first essential is 
that she should like to write, — that she should prefer to earn her 
living that way rather than any other. The next essential is to 
study the Sunday papers as she would study geometry or Virgil, 
— study them to find out what the man who edits them wants 
and will pay for. No free lance can ever be successful who has 
not an interest in many things outside of her business. Any line 
of thought whatever in which she is interested will give her ma- 
terial to write about, if she knows how to write. One free lance, 
for instance, began to study the Italian language. Association 
with her teacher led her into explorations in the Italian colonies 
in New York, which enabled her to sell many hundreds of dol- 
lars' worth of Italian stories to New York papers and magazines. 
If one is interested in settlements, in missions, in charities, in 
society, in bridge, in beauty doctors, in theosophy, it all yields 
"stun ." Albert Diirer, they say, taking a stroll, beheld to his 
very great astonishment a blue monkey. Returning to his studio, 
he painted the blue monkey into a picture of the Holy Family. 
The good free lance will inevitably work every blue monkey she 
sees into a newspaper story and sell it for hard cash. 



WOMEN IN PUBLISHING HOUSES 
EDITH A. WINSHIP 

Editorial Department, Charles E. Merrill Company, New York 

The departments of the publishing house in which women are 
chiefly employed may be classified in general as financial, ad- 
vertising, sales, and editorial departments. 

The financial department obviously is concerned with the keep- 
ing of accounts and the related work. Women are very gener- 
ally used by the publishers for this work, as by other business 
houses. Here one looks for accuracy, aptitude for figures, and 
a certain steady reliability. The technical training in accounting, 



LITERARY WORK 245 

Dilling, and the various other details of book-keeping provided in 
high schools and business schools gives a girl a good start; and 
she should be able, as she proves her worth, to rise to a well- 
paid position of responsibility. 

The advertising department is a good place for a wide-awake 
girl with literary tastes. The soliciting of advertisements, which 
is limited to the magazine field, is the man's province. But in 
the book publishing business the advertising department is con- 
cerned with providing ammunition to help sell the books. This 
work women can do and are doing in many publishing houses. 
This department issues catalogues, circulars, announcements of 
new books, advertisements in newspapers and magazines, liter- 
ary notes about authors and books, and other devices of modern 
advertising. The assistant to the advertising manager should be 
a good judge of both books and people. She can train herself 
for the work chiefly by the practice that gives a command of 
words and a ready pen, by studying the effective use of type, 
paper, and color, and by observing what attracts attention and 
interest. She may get her start through stenography and type- 
writing; and with ability and favoring circumstances she should 
be able to advance into the original, constructive work of the de- 
partment. 

The term "sales department" may here be used to include the 
office work that promotes the sales of publications through other 
means than are indicated for the advertising department. The 
office constantly receives inquiries about publications, and these 
must be handled by an intelligent correspondent who will make 
friends for the house and sell its products. Good use can here 
be made of a knowledge not only of all the publications of one's 
own house, but of other books in the same field. The power to 
write a convincing letter must usually come through training one's 
self, for the English courses in school and college naturally tend to 
a literary rather than a business style of writing. The writing 
of business-getting letters is a sufficient achievement for the am- 
bitions of any girl, and success in this line is fairly sure of recog- 
nition. 

In connection with the sales department many records must be 
kept, and information and lists of possible purchasers must be 



246 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

gathered from the four corners, and kept up to date and usable. 
Such work is usually done by girls. Training in cataloguing and 
keeping records, such as is given in library courses, is good prep- 
aration for this work. Methodical habits of work, and ability 
to sift and organize facts, a girl may, and should, acquire along 
with her study of history, science, and other subjects. 

The editorial department is, in most cases, the centre of at- 
traction for the college girl; and if she has the right qualities, 
she will find here one of the most interesting of all employments 
for women. Manuscripts are read with a view to deciding 
whether or not the house should publish them; if accepted, they 
are edited and made ready for the printer; illustrations are planned 
and secured; and proof is read in various stages until the book is 
ready to be printed. For magazines the work is similar and the 
same equipment is needed, though the make-up of a magazine 
presents a different set of problems. Skill in proof-reading is 
usually the first requisite for an applicant in the editorial depart- 
ment. She should have also accurate knowledge and good taste 
in the use of the English language, and constructive as well as 
critical ability. Much technical knowledge is needed for this 
work — a knowledge of types and the procedure in printing-offices, 
of certain characteristics of drawings and photographs, and of 
methods of reproduction. Such information cannot be had in any 
degree from books and lectures: it must be learned from the in- 
side, from observation and experience. The technique of proof- 
reading may be learned from books, and with a careful eye a 
little practice will set one going. A girl should be content to 
start at almost any sort of apprentice work. Progress will come 
as she becomes familiar with types and the details of book-mak- 
ing, and proves ability to take on editorial functions beyond the 
reading of proof. 

Through all the departments of a publishing house there are 
positions for the stenographer and secretary — with the president, 
manager, and other officers, the agents, and heads of departments. 
The characteristics of such a position are much the same as in 
many other business houses; but the work may be especially 
interesting to a girl who likes books. She may reply to letters 
without dictation, keep track of dates and engagements, inter- 



LITERARY WORK 247 

view callers, seek out statistics and information, and in various 
ways exercise initiative and offer suggestions. A knowledge of 
foreign languages may be useful. In all these ways education 
beyond the high school counts well. Fastidious English, good 
style in the mechanics of typewriting, and the personal qualities 
that make a good "right-hand man" — all help to make a girl 
valuable in such a position. 

After all these things have been said, we must emphasize the 
fact that publishing houses are not so very numerous, and that 
their positions for women are not waiting for applicants. It 
behooves the girl who is looking for such a position to adapt her- 
self to as many of the possible openings as her training and per- 
sonal qualifications will admit. She should consider also allied 
work outside of publishing houses, such as proof-reading in the 
printer's office, writing for the advertising agency, and manu- 
script work for the college professor. 

Of the salaries no general statement can be made with definite- 
ness. By a well-educated girl with experience $15 per week 
should be easily attained; $25 may be regarded as the usual maxi- 
mum, though experienced women in positions of responsibility 
go well above that figure.* 

* According to the report of Miss Gertrude L. Marvin, Wellesley Fellow in 
the Research Department of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union, 
the six book-publishing houses investigated in Boston employ 106 women and 
131 men; that is, nearly 45 per cent, of the total employees are women. But 
of these 106 women, only 6 are holding responsible positions, paying over $20 a 
week, as contrasted with 45 men holding executive positions in these same firms. 
Of these 6 women 3 receive $25 a week. The exact salaries of the others are 
not known. — Ed. 



248 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



WORK IN A PUBLISHING HOUSE 
JESSIE REID 

Advertising Department, The Macmillan Company, New York 

The difficulty and the abiding interest of work in a publishing 
house lie in the changing nature of the commodity produced. 
The systematic distribution of soap or of boots might pall, but 
of books — never. No two offer the same problem. Even where 
the general subject may be the same, two given volumes will 
appeal to widely separate classes, and a publisher's success 
depends upon his skill in passing each book into the hands of 
possible buyers with the least fumbling. 

The number of college women employed in the work is greatly 
on the increase. Up to ten years ago it was uncommon to find 
graduates in the publishing offices. Now nearly all of the leading 
houses have two, three, or half a dozen on the staff in positions 
intermediate between those of stenographers and department 
heads. The primary difficulty is that so much more or less me- 
chanical detail has to be learned that the first year's work is 
usually at a salary of not over $12 a week, and larger imme- 
diate returns are possible elsewhere. 

Some publishers give each manuscript a careful reading in 
their own offices. The majority send all except those obviously 
unsuitable out to one or another of an unattached staff of ad- 
visers, basing action on the report received. Some, after a manu- 
script has been accepted, give it thorough scrutiny before sending 
it to the printer, with a view to forestalling corrections at 
a more expensive stage. Proof-reading proper is the work of 
author and printer, but every book needs supervision while in 
press. It is necessary that some one see to it that proofs are 
passing between printer and author with due regularity; there 
are delays, and complaints to be investigated; there are often 
illustrations to be supplied by the publisher, and arrangements 
must be made for these; sometimes questions as to the quoting 
of copyrighted material arise, and must be settled by some one 
in the publishers' office. 



LITERARY WORK 249 

Where many school books are published, a "reviser" is kept 
busy indicating changes needed to keep them up to date, geog- 
raphies, for example. In some cases, indexes, etc., are made in 
the publishing offices, but usually such a detail is privately ar- 
ranged for by the author. 

Publicity work includes supplying literary editors in all the 
different cities with information about books in preparation or 
recently published. Reviews are not often written by the pub- 
lishing houses, but the machinery of distributing books for review, 
specimen illustrations, or extracts, or authors' portraits, requires 
or offers the opportunity for a skilful discrimination. There 
are also special descriptive circulars to be prepared, and the 
formal advertising; while the province of special cataloguing, 
spring and fall announcement lists, etc., is limited only by the 
amount the firm is willing to spend, and that in turn depends 
upon the attractiveness with which they can be designed and 
written. 

Another field where a publisher finds educated help service- 
able is in establishing relations with possible customers. If a 
house publishes many reference books or scholarly works on 
special subjects, it is desirable to list the names and addresses of 
the comparatively few men who own technical libraries or whose 
good word may introduce the book to others. Such lists ob- 
tained by carefully trying out the membership lists of certain 
clubs or names otherwise gathered are frequently valuable assets. 
Where educational books of college grade are published, lists 
are kept of all men teaching a given subject in any part of the 
country, and they are fully informed as to the contents or special 
character of any book upon their subject as soon as it is published, 
and often earlier. 

Special correspondence with schools, with libraries, secretaries 
of reading circles, and women's clubs, is another section of the 
work of introducing a new book. One publishing house which 
issues a cyclopedia has liberally offered, though not in so many 
words, to supply by correspondence any information lacking in 
the same. At any rate, it employs three women, of whom at 
least one is a college graduate, in the research work needed to 
answer the numerous questions received in reply. 



250 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

Of course, where the house in question publishes periodicals 
as well as books, there are still further opportunities, but 
these belong rather to editorial lines of occupation than to 
publishing. 

Of original "literary" work there is comparatively little. 
For the most part, the work is plain commercial drudgery. No 
two houses divide their work on precisely the same system, and 
it is almost impossible to make comparative statements as to 
salary. Perhaps it is safe to say that list-building, writing de- 
scriptive and "follow-up" letters and ordinary circulars, are paid 
for at from $12 to $25 a week, ranging from a beginner to experi- 
enced fair ability. Exceptional ability, especially in the direc- 
tion of preparing advertising material and distributing it in such 
a way as to get results, commands exceptional rewards. At its 
worst, there is no more drudgery than in any commercial business, 
and there is always the savor of sporting interest in the success 
or failure of each new book. 



EDUCATED WOMEN IN MAGAZINE WORK 

JAMES EATON TOWER 

Editor, "Good Housekeeping Magazine" 

Is there a considerable and growing field for educated young 
women in the editing, manufacture, and circulating of magazines? 
May we expect to see college graduates turning to this field in 
large numbers rather than entering the crowded ranks of the 
teachers? What is "magazine work," as a woman finds it? and 
how well does it pay? Are there many young women already 
at work in this field, enough of them to demonstrate their ca- 
pacity and fitness? These questions, I presume, fairly cover the 
problem as the Women's Educational and Industrial Union wants 
to lay it before young women. 

The subject might be dismissed in a summary manner because 
the magazines which our friends have in mind are so few. There 
are less than one hundred magazines, all told, of the scope and 



LITERARY WORK 251 

standard to make any particular appeal to educated young women. 
Of trade monthlies and weeklies, devoted to the interests of scores 
or even hundreds of trades and professions, there is a very large 
number, but owing to their technical character they offer no spe- 
cial attractions or opportunities outside the familiar channels of 
business. Of magazines for women which are entitled to recog- 
nition in this article there are about thirty. Of those for the 
family and individual, irrespective of sex, which we may term for 
convenience the magazines of news, miscellany, and literature, 
there are in the neighborhood of seventy. Here, then, are one 
hundred magazines, in round numbers, which employ young 
women in larger or smaller numbers. Suppose each one offers 
two vacancies a year, of a character to interest the young woman 
of education. It is the exceptional girl, among the army of 
thousands of yearly alumnae, who finds work of this description — 
exceptional in a commercial way, at least. But she ought not 
to be too exceptional in character, training, and her outlook 
upon life. 

"Magazine work" sounds refined and genteel. A magazine 
comes out at intervals of four weeks, without the breathless 
scramble of the daily newspaper; it wears a finer garb, is presumed 
to be more leisurely in its production. It is a well-groomed "par- 
lor pet" beside its workaday brother, the newspaper. But let 
us look behind the scenes, to the methods of production. It is 
natural to think of the daily newspaper as the vanguard, fight- 
ing its stern way ahead, while the magazines come leisurely and 
elegantly behind. In these days of "national journalism" the 
precise opposite is true. The daily newspaper is living in the 
hours of to-morrow or next week; the magazine is away ahead, 
scouting on the frontier of next year and the year after. To 
shift our metaphor, if the newspaper is floating on the currents 
of thought and action, riding the highest wave, the magazine 
worker has found the undercurrents, often the deepest of them, 
and is months in advance of popular knowledge and thought. In- 
deed, he must be. A magazine of large circulation, printed and 
illustrated with care, closes its forms from six weeks to three 
months before the date of issue. The writing of the articles, the 
drawing of the pictures, and the engraving of the plates is a slow 



252 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

process. A Christmas number, for example, must be planned 
the previous winter, for the text and drawings must be ready for 
printers and engravers before the summer vacation. 

The "news" of national journalism is gathered by men and 
women who travel the continent and the world over for their 
material, seeking first of all to detect developments and changes 
and sound the deeper currents of thought and feeling. National 
journalism is none too large a term for the editorial policy of 
the leading magazines for women. The vast feminist move- 
ment, as they term it in Europe, is quite as active in the United 
States of America as in any or all of the European countries, and 
is so varied, so rapid, and so extensive in its scope as to demand 
journalistic training or journalistic instinct of the first quality to 
grapple with it. A love for belles-lettres, skill in furbishing son- 
nets, are no longer the prime requisites of the responsible magazine 
worker. Magazine production is, it seems to me, merely post- 
graduate newspaper work. My remarks upon national journal- 
ism may help the reader to see the nature of the demand upon the 
magazine worker who would get beyond the minor, small-sal- 
aried positions. The condition here briefly described may also 
help to account for the number of men employed in producing 
magazines for women. Women qualified by natural endowment 
and training to undertake the serious work of magazine editing 
are no doubt occupying positions of equal or greater exaltation 
elsewhere, — largely because the extensive development of mag- 
azines is of recent origin. 

Recurring to the peculiar demands upon the magazine editor 
of to-day and upon the editor of a woman's magazine in partic- 
ular, we must not overlook the mercantile aspects of the prob- 
lem. A magazine addressed to the mass of women is like a de- 
partment store, with its manifold branches of trade. Here come 
in play the instinct and judgment of the daughter of Eve, un- 
spoiled by education — or, rather, over-education. The editors 
are very like the department store buyers, compelled to get what 
the rank and file of women want, — always in consonance with 
high ideals. Right here the male mind, less prone to be diverted 
by special tastes or interests, better able by training to keep the 
whole field in view, the commercial instinct more keenly devel- 



LITERARY WORK 253 

oped, often has the advantage and the lead. In so far as the 
higher education truly broadens the sympathies and understand- 
ing of girls, enables them to put themselves in the places of their 
less fortunate sisters and to guide and help them while catering 
to them, it aids in fitting them for work like this. Whatever 
tends toward intellectual snobbery is, of course, a drawback in 
any department of magazine work. The most conspicuously 
successful woman editor in the American magazine field is not a 
graduate of a college, but of the "city room" of a great daily. 
From such sources have come many of the most brilliant authors 
of the present generation. It is safe to say, I think, that a large 
majority of the magazine editors were once newspaper workers. 

One of the most interesting and educative branches of news- 
paper work is the conduct of a local weekly, in city, suburb, or 
country. A good many young women, some of them college 
graduates, are taking it up, with excellent results. The reason 
a greater number do not, I presume, is because it usually requires 
the command of capital. For a girl of literary tastes, imbued with 
a desire to understand and serve her fellow-creatures, the editing 
of a local weekly seems to me one of the very best occupations. 
The standard of the local press the country over is rapidly rising. 
The advent of educated women in the profession would acceler- 
ate this improvement, while augmenting the ranks of practical 
literary workers in all departments, — newspaper and magazine 
editors and writers and the authors of books. The local editor 
goes straight to original sources, — to human nature. A shrewd 
understanding of human nature, a real sympathy with it, is the 
secret of success in magazine work, as in running a department 
store, a church, or a circus. 

We editors want representative young women as our co-workers. 
The right training, whether in college or in the newspaper har- 
ness, or in both, should make them representative. Plans, ideas, 
articles, must often be "tried on" a person or persons near at 
hand, and experience demonstrates that those who come nearest 
to representing the rank and file are the safest guides. How 
directly this principle applies to manuscript readers can be readily 
seen. An editor or a book publisher must have what is commonly 
termed "judgment" in readers, an instinct or sense for what the 



254 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

public wants, in order not to lose the best specimens from the in- 
flowing manuscripts. 

A young woman possessed of the higher education, so called, 
and filled with ambition, will hardly aspire to seek and hold the 
very minor positions in magazine publishing houses. There are 
proof-readers and copy-holders, stenographers, clerical workers, 
and outdoor solicitors and organizers in the circulation and ad- 
vertising departments, though the feminine advertising solici- 
tor is yet a rarity. It has seemed to the present writer that 
there are places now and then in the circulation departments 
for college women of executive ability and resource. These 
"jobs " are not for the shy violets of literature, but for the pushers, 
who are as likely to develop in college as elsewhere. The more 
education, the bigger and broader the woman, the greater the 
chances of success. On the editorial side, too, such women are 
winning and holding positions of responsibility. Why may not 
one of the great publishers of a generation to come be a woman of 
this type? 

An effort was made to secure from the magazines, notably those 
for women, statistics of feminine employment. The returns were 
scanty. The managing editor of one magazine makes clear the 
fact that the relative merits of college women and others in their 
establishment have scarcely challenged study. He says: — 

In the editorial department we have employed first and last a num- 
ber of college graduates, although they have made up only a small per- 
centage of the staff as a whole. There is not a grain of doubt in my mind 
that it has been a decided advantage to us to have college girls on the 
staff. I would not go so far as to say that I think all of the women on 
the staff should be graduates, but it certainly is a help to have some of 
them; and if we were about to fill a vacancy, and the choice lay be- 
tween a graduate and one who was not a graduate, all other things being 
equal, it is almost certain that we should take the graduate. I can't 
conceive of our doing otherwise. 

The editor of another magazine for women writes: 

We have both college women and women who have never been inside 
a college in this office. I fiud that college training or lack of col- 



LITERARY WORK 255 

lege training seems to make no difference in the value of their work, 
so far as these particular individuals are concerned. So far as the matter 
of education goes, of course I believe that the college woman has better 
training, and, other things being equal, should do better work than the 
woman without a college education. 

While many editors admit in this general fashion that a col- 
lege education is an advantage for editorial positions, few lay 
particular emphasis upon it. Two frankly prefer previous news- 
paper experience: another values training in English and general 
breadth of information. No large per cent, of those reported in 
editorial positions are college graduates. 

Somewhat general information as regards the positions which 
women now hold in magazine publishing houses has come from 
fifteen magazines of various types, from the most popular to the 
most dignified. Of the four magazines for women, but one has a 
woman as its editor. She writes, however, of women on her own 
and other magazines published by her house as editors, sub- 
editors, and manuscript readers. Ten other magazines are re- 
ported as having women in one or another of these capacities or 
in unnamed positions of some responsibility in the editorial de- 
partment. One of the most conservative monthly magazines has 
a woman on its staff as editorial reader; but "no one ever fills 
this position who has not special qualifications for the work." 
For this position " a college education, supplemented by broad and 
wide reading," is considered "essential." The editor of a popu- 
lar monthly magazine writes: — 

Women are employed in practically every part of our business, — 
editorial, advertising, circulation, and business departments. Miss 



is, of course, one of our most responsible editors. The head of our sub- 
scription department, who has charge of 50 or 60 girls, is a young 



Only four out of the fifteen magazines heard from have no 
women other than clerks in the editorial department. 

For positions of responsibility in other departments the ap- 
proach seems to lie largely through clerical work, such as that of 



256 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

the 50 or 60 girls just mentioned. In the advertising depart- 
ment of one magazine for women the proportion of women to men 
is 10 to 7, but "the women employed are principally filing and 
checking clerks and stenographers." In the circulation depart- 
ment of the same magazine the proportion is 10 to 1, but "the 
labor is unskilled." On another monthly magazine women num- 
ber 50 per cent, in the advertising department, 50 per cent, in 
the book-keeping, and 95 per cent, in the subscription department. 
Another magazine, which employs no women in the editorial 
department, has elsewhere a proportion of 6 to 1. It employs 
approximately 200 women in the busy season from October to 
February, and 75 all the year round. Obviously, these are 
clerks. Their "help is used mostly in the subscription and cir- 
culation department. They keep all the records of the advertis- 
ing department and do the work in the cashier and book-keeping 
department with one man to oversee them." Clearly, too, in 
all these cases the larger the proportion of women, the less re- 
sponsible the position. Only a few positions of responsibility, 
outside of the editorial department, were cited: cashier and as- 
sistant cashier, general secretary of the office on a magazine with 
a small staff; head of a department, in one case a small branch of 
the circulation department with charge of a subscription scheme 
among women and girls, in another the whole subscription de- 
partment. One magazine house, however, employs a woman in 
what would seem to be one of the most important positions 
mentioned, — to manage its literary bulletin and to look after 
its interests in the newspapers. 

Opinions as to the chance of women's rising to positions of 
responsibility in magazine work are varied. Two editors give no 
hope of women's holding any position above that of clerk or 
cashier. One offers very slow advance from a clerkship at $6 a 
week to the headship of a department at $15 for the able woman 
without training in stenography and $18 for the woman specially 
trained. Eight explicitly state that the chance of rising to posi- 
tions of responsibility is almost as good or as good for able, edu- 
cated women as for men. Five houses offer $6 as the minimum 
wage; one gives $10 as the maximum; one, $18; three, $25. Three 
houses give a different range. One begins with $5 to $10, leav- 



LITERARY WORK 257 

ing the maximum to the individual, — to the woman "just the 
same as to the man." Another states'' approximately $15 to 
$30, without making the maximum fixed. A third suggests $20 
to $40, the maximum implying "unusual ability in management." 
These three houses employ women in positions of distinct re- 
sponsibility in the editorial department. 

The reasons suggested for low pay and limitation of oppor- 
tunity are worth noting. The firm mentioned above as employ- 
ing a large number of women clerks writes : — 

The wages paid in all departments to women range from $6 to $18 
a week. The average would be $8, which means that there are not 
very many earning the higher wages. We believe that the scale in our 
office is the prevailing scale in the publishing business, and that the pub- 
lishing scale is lower than that of other lines of business where the same 
quality of brains is employed to do clerical work. We cannot explain 
that except by the law of demand and supply. 

Another firm says: — 

The opportunities for women to rise to responsible positions are not 
so great as for men; but in work that is confined solely to the inside of the 
office and does not require outside contact, women have an excellent chance. 

And another: — 

While we have not yet found a woman who has been seriously con- 
sidered for the very first positions, I think it may safely be said that there 
is no discrimination, but that women would have, all things considered, 
practically as good a chance as men, though we prefer men where it is 
necessary to send out investigators. 

As the last two firms mention the largest number of women in 
responsible positions and name the largest salaries, their words 
carry weight. 

A woman connected with one of the magazines for women edited 
by a man writes as follows : — 

I am not at all sure that my reason for believing there should be a 
man on the editorial staff of a woman's magazine is a good one, but I 
have observed that the most successful magazines for women are run 



258 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

by men. They have, I imagine, the kind of business ability that is neces- 
sary. 

Still another possible limitation is suggested by the words 
of another managing editor: — 

Sex makes no difference. It all depends on the individual. It is 
altogether a case of usefulness, particularly of the degree in which initiative 
is developed. 

Apparently, the field of magazine work is still debatable ground, 
with some women doing good pioneer work and some men giving 
hearty encouragement. As in other fields where business sense 
is of prime importance, women have still to prove their ability 
for the highest achievement. Evidently, they must more fully 
demonstrate their value in minor positions, that they may not 
be secured more cheaply than men. In the higher places they 
must prove their business sense, their powers of initiative and 
of execution, their ability to deal largely and impersonally with 
men and events and ideas. — Ed. 



INDEXING 
JULIA E. ELLIOTT 

Indexer, New York 

Indexing naturally falls into two general divisions, which for 
convenience we may call literary and commercial. These, again, 
have innumerable subdivisions, some of which require special 
fitness and training, aside from a knowledge of foundation prin- 
ciples, to develop successfully. Book and magazine indexing 
fall under the literary heading, and are what we commonly think 
of when we speak of indexing. Commercial indexing, often called 
"systems," "filing," or some other commercial term, includes the 
filing and indexing of correspondence and trade catalogues; and 
in this day of card systems for business records, the principles 
are applied to various book-keeping and accounting systems. 



LITERARY WORK 259 

That the indexing field and its possibilities are very great is 
undeniable, but like many another profession the beginnings have 
been the outgrowth of necessity, and have been very small and 
slow of development. Publishers have been slow to recognize the 
great value of good indexes, because the saving in time is to the 
user and not to the producer. From their point of view a good 
index is a direct cash outlay without a corresponding cash in- 
come: hence a very casual examination of a miscellaneous col- 
lection of books from different publishers will reveal a very few 
with good indexes, many with very poor and inadequate ones, 
and a large majority without any. We find a larger proportion 
and a better quality of indexes in periodicals, because they have 
proved a necessity to the editors in avoiding duplication and con- 
tradictions, and in answering many editorial questions of policy 
and practice. The past ten years have seen a great advance, 
however, and it is most encouraging that a few publishers are 
producing uniformly excellent indexes. The demand for trained 
indexers is increasing. 

In the commercial world, business men have been quicker to 
recognize the money value of accurate and intelligent indexes. 
Many large concerns have spared neither time nor money in de- 
vising excellent systems adequate to their needs, but such systems 
are, as a rule, local and individual, and not by any means univer- 
sal. 

The opportunities for training in these various lines are very 
limited. The writer has been unable to locate a single business 
college that offers a good practical course in commercial indexing. 
All say that they teach it in a general way, meaning that they 
explain the use of the various filing systems on the market, in 
about the same way that the manufacturer does, while the real 
work of indexing, with all its problems of the choice of names, 
cross-references, indication of subjects, and actual working out 
of details, is left for the student to experiment with and learn at 
the expense of his employers. It is true that it is the function 
of a school to supply rather than create a demand, but in this 
instance it would seem as if the business college had missed a great 
opportunity. Book indexing is given a place in the curriculum 
of the various library schools. The longest course in any one 



260 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

school consists of twelve lessons, and the shortest of three, both 
too short to give a thorough training in even one class of book 
indexing, but all that the crowded schedules are justified in as- 
signing to this subject at the present time. It will be seen, then, 
that the training in either case must come, in the apprenticeship 
fashion, from actual doing, based upon the meagre instruction 
received in business colleges and library schools. 

The qualifications of a good indexer are varied. The most 
important is a good working knowledge of business methods, and 
the point of view of the business man, in the one instance; and 
a broad general knowledge of books and subjects, and the point of 
view of the reader, in the other. In addition an analytical habit 
of mind, good judgment, systematic methods, a capacity for de- 
tail, accuracy, and infinite patience are indispensable. 

The compensation that may be expected is difficult to state 
accurately, because there are comparatively few strictly index- 
ing positions: hence the salary depends more upon the experi- 
ence, training, and efficiency for other kinds of positions which 
merely include indexing as a minor part of the work required. 
The range of salaries is approximately from $600 to $1,200 per 
year, with a safe average of $900. 

The outlook, however, is most encouraging. Not only are 
publishers awakening to the necessity of good indexes in books 
and magazines, but there is a practically unlimited field in na- 
tional, state, and municipal records, the various publications 
of societies and institutions, and the extension of commercial 
indexing. Women with a pioneer spirit will find the work most 
attractive if fitted for it by natural ability and personal taste. 
It offers an opportunity for originality, organization, and inven- 
tion practically unhampered by precedent. 



LITERARY WORK 261 



TRANSLATING 
HELOISE BRAINERD 

Of the Staff of the International Bureau of the American Republics 

Translating is work which appeals to the scholar. It is need- 
less to say that no one should attempt it who does not find lan- 
guage study easy and enjoyable. Next to that, perhaps, natural 
facility for expression is the most important factor, for not every 
good student makes a satisfactory translator. There are two 
extremes to steer between, — too great literalness and too great 
freedom of rendering. It has been said with considerable truth 
that every translator criticises the work of every other. The 
Italian proverb has it, Traduttore, tradittore ("a translator, a 
traitor"), and so he is, without perfect knowledge of his subject. 
But it gives a zest to know that there is always room for improve- 
ment. The true student finds keen delight in searching out exact 
meanings, weighing the force of similar expressions, and discov- 
ering the idioms which are most nearly equivalent in different 
languages, though often totally unlike in literal content. 

It must be said regretfully that very few persons who learn 
a foreign tongue after they are grown ever attain to a real com- 
mand of the written language. Over and over one finds foreigners, 
men of scholarship and culture, who have lived many years in 
this country, making mistakes on every page they write. Can 
we expect to do better? It is, therefore, much easier and more 
satisfactory to confine one's self to translating into one's own 
language. This is a narrower field, and is more useful in foreign 
countries than in the United States, as naturally the greatest 
demand here is for translation into Spanish, Portuguese, or French, 
as the case may be. ' 

With regard to the training needed, too much cannot be said 
as to the necessity, after a good grammar foundation has been 
obtained, of gaining a practical working knowledge through every- 
day, familiar association with those whose native tongue one is 
learning, hearing and speaking nothing else. By far the best 



262 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

way is to spend from one to three years in a foreign country, 
living in a private family where there are young people, and gain- 
ing in the home, the shops, the theatres, a vocabulary which is 
not found in books. Knowledge of literature as such is valuable, 
but it does not help much in commercial translating, although 
constant reading is as important as practice in speech. Along 
with the dictionary, personal explanation of obscure words or 
passages is invaluable. In this connection it might be well to 
suggest the early purchase of a first-class dictionary all in French, 
for example, not French-English. It may take longer to ascertain 
the meaning of a word, but in all probability one or two others 
will have been acquired by the way. A course of study in a foreign 
college would be excellent. Learning stenography and taking 
dictation, which is possible after a fair speaking knowledge is 
obtained, affords one of the best means of acquiring idiom. 

Where it is impracticable to go to a foreign country for this 
training, there are in New York, and probably in other cities, 
Spanish boarding-houses where helpful practice could be had. 
Very likely there are French and Italian boarding-houses also. 
Here, however, the association can be only partial. 

The field of translation divides itself into literary and commer- 
cial work. The former is, of course, dependent upon the pos- 
session of literary ability. On the commercial side it must be 
stated frankly that the opportunities are very limited. There 
are a very few governmental positions in Washington and in the 
custom-houses, immigration offices, etc., of our ports, where various 
languages are used. Some firms, manufacturers of patent medi- 
cines for instance, require translation into most of the European 
tongues of catalogues, labels, and other advertising matter, but 
the chief demand is for Spanish. Our trade with the Spanish- 
American countries is increasing rapidly, and along the Atlantic 
and Pacific coasts especially many shipping houses carry on 
correspondence in that language. There are also in the United 
States several trade journals printed in Spanish. 

It must be borne in mind, however, that great numbers of 
Cubans and Porto Ricans have come to this country of recent 
years, as well as Mexicans and South Americans, who largely 
supply this need. In many cases they have not had a sufficiently 



LITERARY WORK 263 

broad education, and in this, as in other lines of work, it is true 
that there is "room at the top"; but the well-educated foreigner 
has two advantages: so long as he stays in this country, he con- 
tinues to learn, and the most important translating required is 
into his native tongue, not into English. 

The payment of such services varies as much as that of steno- 
graphic or clerical work. The great influx of our West Indian 
neighbors referred to above has made it possible to obtain a trans- 
lator at $40 or $50 a month. Such work is poorly done, of course; 
but it affects the whole scale of wages. Good translators doing 
general work, such as correspondence or magazine articles, sel- 
dom receive over $100 a month. In general, it may be said that 
the remuneration varies according to the technicality of the work. 
The translation of legal, patent, engineering, or other scientific 
matter, is paid for at double or treble the ordinary rates, but the 
ability to do such work naturally requires special study of the 
subject, just as a lawyer has sometimes to master a whole branch 
of learning in order to plead a case. 

In summing up, it may be said that the work of translating is 
delightful and instructive, but its practical sphere for American 
women is limited, and the way to desirable positions is long and 
difficult. If, however, one has the time and inclination to per- 
fect one's training before entering the field, one will find the occupa- 
tion both profitable and enjoyable. 



VIII 
ART 

ILLUSTRATING 

Three lines of work are here included under illustrating: illus- 
trating for books and magazines of the general literary and artis- 
tic type, which is what one commonly means by the term; draw- 
ing models for fashion magazines, newspapers, catalogues, which 
is generally known as fashion drawing; and illustrating for adver- 
tising purposes, — a particularly good commercial outlet for ability 
in either of the two lines mentioned. 

1. The training necessary for a good illustrator, writes Mrs. Alice Bar- 
bour Stephens, is the earnest training of an artist in drawing, painting, 
and the easy use of all materials. An art school gives a large variety 
of influences and would seem most desirable. Many of the schools now pro- 
vide a class for special training in illustrating. The desirable qualifica- 
tions for an illustrator are personality, observation, skill, as much artistic 
ability as she may fortunately be born with, and a broad sympathy with 
the human drama. There is no question of opportunity if a woman has 
ability and equipment in draftsmanship; the publishers are ready 
for all such. But this does not come with short training. The question 
of money return it is impossible to be exact on. Greatness and clever- 
ness are not the same thing, and cleverness is more likely to pay best at 
first. Some well-known women illustrators may, after many years, earn 
$3,000; some, $5,000 for several years; a few, more than this for a 
few special years. They must be capable of long-sustained output, a 
habit of great industry, and steady health. In some feverish centres, 
like New York, no doubt the price and brilliancy go much beyond this. 
I do not know more specifically, however. A large number of the less 
talented of my knowledge find many little avenues for their modest 
work: industry is pretty sure of some reward. Skill, with character, 
and keeping within touch of inspiring influences, is the key-note of 

success. 

264 



ART 265 

2. As regards fashion drawing, there 'seems to be one opinion 
on the part of fashion magazine editors, dealers in women's wear, 
and fashion drawers. One editor writes: — 

I can most emphatically say that there is a wide field for women in 
fashion drawing. In our work we use about 10 fashion artists, all of 
whom are women. As a rule, men are not so satisfactory in this line of 
work, because they do not seem to fully appreciate the lines of women's 
clothes. 

Another adds: — 

Our fashion drawings are made by 3 women and 1 man. The 
fashion "copy" is written entirely by women. The work is exceedingly 
remunerative, but the prices of the drawings vary according to the ex- 
perience, reputation, and ability of the artist. The newspapers pay $2 
to $3 each for one column fashion drawings, — sometimes a little more, 
sometimes a little less. Our lowest rate is $5 a column, our highest 
rate $15 a column. There are very few men doing good fashion work, 
but any number of women who are successful in this field. The fashion 
illustrations in most of the large newspapers are made by women who 
have had their training in this country. 

And a third says: — 

On our staff we have both men and women, but more women. We 
think fashion drawing an especially good opportunity for women. 

Two out of three hat manufacturers to whom inquiries were 
sent replied that men had drawn the hats which prompted the in- 
quiry; but both cordially recommended this work for women. 
One had previously employed women for his advertising, and the 
other thought it "one of the best paying lines that a lady could de- 
vote her time and attention to." The third kindly gave the name 
of the woman artist who does his drawing, and added, "I think 
the work is very profitable for women, as we pay from $15 up to 
$30 for our drawings." 

Returns from fashion drawers themselves confirm the opinions 
already given, although the estimate as to compensation varies. 
One woman states: — 



266 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

An average fashion artist on a magazine ought to earn not less than $10 
weekly. It is possible to earn $50 or more per week. I should say $20 
is a fair average for a good artist. 

Another thinks that a good fashion artist should make $50 a 
week or more. And the third states: — 

A large house pays from $6 to $50 a week, and the one or two head 
artists get a good deal more. One woman's magazine, I understand, 
pays from $25 to $40 a figure, and more if they are very anxious for 
any particular artist's work. 

One of the magazine editors quoted above puts the possibili- 
ties clearly: — 

If women have talent in design besides some artistic ability, they can 
make from $25 to $100 or more a week by making fashion drawings, as 
they are in demand not only for the fashion magazines, but for illustrat- 
ing advertisements for newspapers and magazines. 

Apparently, one would be conservative in making $20 to $75 
a week the range for fashion drawing which can meet the needs of 
both magazine and advertisement. 

The nature of this work and the training necessary can best be 
given in the words of the artists themselves : — 

To become a good fashion illustrator of any kind, it is desirable to have 
a good foundation in drawing from the cast and from life. Without 
such knowledge, success is impossible. A girl desirous of entering the 
ranks should have two or three years at a good art school, and, if pos- 
sible, an additional course in practical designing. 

On completing such training, one must acquire practical knowledge 
by doing actual work for publication. It is possible to obtain a position 
with a firm of commercial illustrators, and to obtain a salary of from $6 
to $25 a week, according to the proficiency of the artist. In an establish- 
ment of this kind it is possible to acquire a knowledge of the handling of 
various mediums, — pen and ink wash, etc., — also some idea of the method 
of reproduction. To illustrate successfully for a good magazine requires 
a knowledge of the method of reproduction, of fashion, of fabrics, laces, 
millinery, and coiffures : the main consideration is the value of the drawing 
as a fashion. To become really proficient requires five or six years of 



ART 267 

practical experience, which is obtained only after meeting the demands 
and requirements presented in the commercial world. 

The artist usually develops along lines suited to the needs of the special 
magazine which supplies the market for her work. Different magazines 
cater to different strata of society. The greater the mental aptitude of 
the artist to slip into the mood of the fashions and of the particular 
fashion editor with whom she is working, the greater the possibility 
for ultimate success. In the highest grade of fashion drawing the artist 
uses models for the figures, the result being as much like a good illustra- 
tion as is possible where a gown has to be so accurately represented. 
Good advertising comes under this head. Below this grade are news- 
paper cuts, catalogues, pictures to illustrate a pattern, and dressmakers ' 
sketches. Only those well trained can do the highest type of work: the 
rest must keep to the general run of fashion drawing. 

3. Good illustrating for advertisements is evidently both more 
lucrative and more exacting than fashion drawing. 

Advertising work is more remunerative, writes an artist, but requires 
a wider knowledge, a fuller experience. It is not infrequently a de- 
velopment of another kind of work. Successful advertising artists earn 
large salaries, — from $50 to $200 per week according to their proficiency. 

As this is the word of the artist who gave the most conservative 
estimate for fashion drawing, one is tempted to give weight to 
her figures, remembering, however, that New York prices have, as 
she herself says, a "feverish tendency.*' Another artist writes 
more generally: — 

Advertising work is also in demand, and gains a high price. This work 
depends largely upon originality of idea and style of execution, and is 
more along the line of regular illustrating. It is impossible to say how 
much time would be required to gain a high place and salary, as so much 
depends upon personal ability. 

The requirements for the work can best be summed up, per- 
haps, in the words of an artist who draws the illustrations for 
one of the most widely and cleverly advertised foods: — 

To be successful in advertising work, I have found that the work must 
be "spontaneous," and I am afraid women who do not possess this 



268 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

quality have little "chance." A woman must have the sense of beauty, 
exaggeration, humor, and I don't know what; for sometimes the little 
sketch done in ten minutes takes a large order, when a carefully worked 
out sketch that has taken days goes by the wall. Hard work, after all, 
is the only road to success and "money." Keep on, no matter how dis- 
couraged, and if you have talent you must succeed some time or other. 
The money-making talent is not considered high art by true artists, and 
if people have ambitions for the highest in painting, they will be penniless 
unless born a Sargent or a Whistler. The secret of commercial success is 
first of all Talent with a capital T, and second, "Hustle." 

That able women are welcome in this field of work is evidenced 
by the replies of all firms from whom opinions and addresses of 
artists were obtained. A firm which advertises largely an in- 
dispensable household article writes: — 

The drawings used in connection with are made by women as well 

as by men. As a matter of fact, we believe we get more satisfactory 
work from women than from men. Women are more familiar with house- 
hold matters than men, and for that reason their work is usually freer 
from error than men's. 

Another manufacturer writes: — 

Probably there are few occupations more remunerative than that of 
such an artist. It is not a field, of course, that women generally can 
enter profitably, but the woman who can draw well will certainly find 
occupation for her pen and pencil. There are scores of advertisers look- 
ing for such women to-day.* — Ed. 



COMMERCIAL DESIGNING 

Compiled from information furnished by Miss Helen Loomis, Secre- 
tary of the New York School of Applied Design for Women. 

Commercial designing for women is highly specialized and really 
includes a variety of occupations. It covers broadly the follow- 
ing groups: — 

1. Designs reproduced by some lithographic process, wall 

*See foot-note, page 172. 



ART 269 

papers, printed silks and cottons, labels, trade-marks, and trade 
catalogues of all kinds. 

2. Designs for woven fabrics, brocades, rugs, laces, and em- 
broideries. 

3. Designs to be executed in wood, metals, and other materials. 
This group includes designs for such things as furniture, jewelry, 
lighting apparatus, ecclesiastical fixtures, rubber tiling, tesse- 
lated pavements, etc. 

4. Book cover, book plate, poster, and fashion designing. 

A competent designer should give from three to four years 
for training, although there is opportunity for progress at what- 
ever rate the individual is capable of. Her training should in- 
clude the ability to draw well and accurately, to letter, to enlarge 
and to make a good flat wash, and a thorough knowledge of the 
two main classes of design, — conventional floral designs and de- 
signs based on historic periods. It is essential that she have 
good eyesight and a true eye. General training in art is a 
valuable prerequisite, and a college education is a distinct ad- 
vantage, especially with regard to historic ornament. No 
woman over thirty-five should begin the training. Courses in 
design are offered at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, Teachers Col- 
lege, Columbia University, and the New York School for Ap- 
plied Design for Women, which gives training under trade con- 
ditions. 

A well-trained designer begins at a salary of from $8 to $12 
per week and works up to a maximum of $50 per week, although 
exceptional cases may receive more. She should receive $25 per 
week at the end of three years. There is a good demand for 
competent designers. A school in New York recently placed 
15 of its students in a month. 



270 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 



MUSEUM WORK FOR WOMEN 

ELIZABETH M. GARDINER 

Assistant to the Director, Worcester Art Museum 

A fresh field for trained workers has arisen within the last 
decade. The plastic arts are no longer the interest of a wealthy 
or exceptionally cultured few; there is a demand springing up 
from thousands of little centres scattered all over the United States. 
In great cities and provincial towns alike, women's clubs, travel 
classes, informal groups of neighbors, girls at boarding-school, 
all are eager to get together and learn about art. From every 
side comes the demand for leaders. 

At the same time, training for such leaders is being provided. 
A few of the larger colleges and universities provide systematic 
instruction in the history of art, equal in severity of standard 
and in academic prestige to that of any other recognized depart- 
ment. Three at least offer serious graduate work in the subject, 
leading to the degree of A.M. or Ph.D. For more advanced 
work there is opportunity abroad. The American Schools for 
Classical Study at Athens and at Rome are beginning to offer 
guidance for research in art history of the Classical and Renais- 
sance periods. 

To students who have taken all or a part of this special training 
and who wish to enter the field as practical workers, two courses 
are open. They may become academic instructors, and answer 
the call from conservative colleges which give only elementary 
art courses,,from secondary schools (particularly finishing schools), 
or from art schools which add to their practical work some edu- 
cation on the historical side; or they may go to the museums, — 
the great, established central collections in New York, Boston, 
Philadelphia, and Chicago; the younger but rapidly growing 
secondary centres, as, for instance, St. Louis, Detroit, Toledo, 
Buffalo, Worcester; and the host of modest beginners that are 
springing up in the smaller cities and towns. 

The positions open to women in museums may be classed some- 
what as follows: — 



ART 271 

Clerical Workers. One or more stenographers for correspond- 
ence, copying, and assistance in book-Iceeping are usually em- 
ployed. No especial art training is necessary, though a knowl- 
edge of modern languages is useful. Salaries average lower than 
in business houses, but hours and associations are pleasanter. 

Librarians. The museum library requires one or more special 
workers. The requisites for librarian, besides familiarity with 
ordinary library processes, are: a reading knowledge of French 
and German; Italian and Spanish enough to make out the 
general character of a work; enough acquaintance with the gen- 
eral history of art to catalogue intelligently; enough of scholarly 
method to estimate the value of a book to the student or to the 
general public. An intelligent woman who had specialized in art 
as an undergraduate and taken a course at a library school would 
be prepared for such a position. 

A parallel department to the library is the photograph collec- 
tion, which normally requires the time of at least one person. 
The work will be the selecting, classifying, and cataloguing of 
photographs illustrating the general history of art. Qualifica- 
tions for the post are similar to those for the library proper, save 
that it needs less complete library training and a more intimate 
knowledge of the history of art. For example, the keeper of 
photographs must know what authorities to trust in case of conflict- 
ing attributions of a given painting or how to find out the style and 
period of stray architectural fragments. She should, if possible, 
have done graduate work on the subject or have travelled. 

For library positions the salary varies. It should normally 
start at $1,000 for properly trained persons. The hours are usually 
shorter than in general libraries. 

Docent. The larger museums are now offering to individuals 
trained guidance through the collections, and to schools or clubs 
advice in using the resources of the museum as adjuncts to their 
own lines of study. This educational work is in charge of a 
special member of the staff, the Docent. She should have, in 
addition to such academic background as is required for the 
keeper of photographs, an acquaintance with the masterpieces in 
the foreign galleries and with the physical setting in which Euro- 
pean art grew up. As her task is to develop appreciation in others, 



272 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

she will need a temperament that responds sensitively to beauty 
wherever found, whether in paintings, pottery, or textiles, and the 
tact to adapt herself now to the bewildered novice who wants 
in an hour "to see the best things in the museum," now to the 
serious student. The position makes a greater nervous drain 
than either of the foregoing, but affords more human interest and 
a rich opportunity for personal growth. It is too recently estab- 
lished to estimate the normal salary, but cannot wisely be under- 
taken on an income which prohibits occasional travel abroad. 

The foregoing positions are all freely open to women and adapted 
to their temperament. A fourth opening sometimes offers itself, 
though in many cases at the present time it is available only for 
men; viz., — 

Curator or Assistant in a given department. The curator's 
task is the classifying and arranging of a special section of the 
material exhibited. In addition to the general background re- 
quired by the docent, the curator should have expert knowledge 
of some one period or class of objects. For this, advanced study 
either in one of the graduate schools abroad or under some rec- 
ognized master is imperative. She should know at least the prin- 
ciples by which genuine and spurious work are distinguished, and 
show some instinct for quality, though absolute trustworthiness 
comes only with long experience. The writer cannot estimate 
the range of salaries offered to women for such work. 

It will be seen, then, that, aside from clerical positions, there 
are two sorts of openings for women in a museum, — one which 
requires general academic training in art and a knowledge of 
library methods; the other, advanced study and foreign travel. 
The library work is perhaps most easily accessible to women; the 
docentship makes greater demands on artistic training and per- 
sonality; the curatorship is probably most difficult of attainment, 
and requires qualities rarer in a woman, though not of a higher 
order than those needed for docentship. A directorship in an 
important museum would, at present, hardly be accessible even 
to a woman who possessed the necessary qualifications. In all 
the positions the work involves contact with absorbingly in- 
teresting material, and the supply of trained workers is well below 
the demand. 



IX 
SPECIAL FORMS OF TEACHING 



VOCATIONAL TEACHING FOR WOMEN 
FLORENCE M. MARSHALL 

Director, Girls' Trade Education League and Industrial Training Department, 
Women's Educational and Industrial Union 

With the rapid spread of industrial and commercial education 
resulting in the establishment of schools and classes aiming to 
prepare girls for wage-earning occupations, comes a pressing 
demand for teachers rightly trained to undertake vocational 
teaching.* Courses and methods in vogue in existing institu- 
tions have not produced the right sort of teachers for industrial 
schools, since industry demands something more, if not some- 
thing different, than has thus far been achieved by pedagogical 
training. 

The business employer, finding school-girls unable to adapt 
themselves immediately to his ways, is apt to infer that the 
school training is all wrong, and that schools cannot train for 
practical work. The truth probably is, however, that school 
training is right as far as it goes, but that it has concerned itself 
only with the formation of certain habits per se, and has paid too 
little attention to adjusting those habits to the practical demands 
of life. For example, school training in the habit of neatness 
requires that all waste material must be kept on the desk or de- 
posited in waste-baskets, and the school stops there because 
that is the correct idea of neatness for school-room and for home, 
while in a dressmaking shop the floor is considered the proper 

* The term is here used as applying to teaching for grades of work below the 
professions, — the rank and file of occupations in the commercial and industrial 
field. 

273 



274 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

place for waste, and a girl who spends her time in picking up her 
pieces and carrying them to a waste-basket is quite worthless to 
her employer. The habit of neatness acquired in school through 
any method whatever is invaluable to her, if she has learned also 
the power of adaptation. Again, school methods are too often 
directed toward the acquisition of some one habit without due 
recognition of other habits equally important. A girl may have 
been taught to work accurately without working quickly, and 
to an employer in certain lines of work speed may be the one great 
essential, while too great accuracy may even be a fault. It is 
generally conceded, therefore, that more attention must be paid 
to training women for this new field of vocational teaching, if 
schools are to prepare girls for practical workshops or other busi- 
ness positions. 

Present opportunities for vocational teaching may be classified 
roughly as follows: — 

1. Public schools and classes. These range all the way from 
attempts to make existing manual training courses serve as general 
industrial training to specialized schools of trade, such as those 
established in Milwaukee, in Columbus, Ga., and in Boston. 
They include also work in evening industrial schools, in which 
there is a crying need for trained teachers who are able to define 
more clearly the aims of evening courses and to set higher stand- 
ards of workmanship. 

2. Private classes conducted in whole or in part by business; 
concerns in the interest of their own employees. Examples of 
such classes are found in the School of Salesmanship carried on at 
the Women's Educational and Industrial Union in co-operation 
with six of the large Boston department stores, and also in the 
Boston School for Telephone Operators, carried on by the Tele- 
phone Company. The movement for training saleswomen is 
spreading very rapidly to other cities; but the one great obstruc- 
tion to its growth is the lack of women rightly trained to carry 
it on. 

3. Private classes conducted by settlements, churches, and other 
philanthropic organizations. More and more the aims of such 
classes are becoming vocational, and teachers are demanded who 
understand how to prepare girls for definite occupations or who 



SPECIAL FORMS OF TEACHING 275 

can give a vocational trend to their work by making it preparatory 
for schools which are definitely designed to fit for trades. 

The great demand for vocational teachers at present comes in 
both industrial and commercial lines, — in all branches of so-called 
needle trades, — dressmaking, millinery, power machine operating, 
and every variety of industry dealing with the manufacture of 
clothing, — in industrial designing, in the preparation and sale 
of foods and the work incident thereto, and in mercantile pur- 
suits, such as salesmanship and secretarial work. 

Institutions with well-established courses in design and the 
domestic arts and sciences, especially Teachers College, Simmons 
College, and Pratt Institute, are endeavoring to meet this demand 
for teachers who understand the requirements of business, by 
opening certain theoretical courses to business women, and by 
supplying more laboratory practice for their regular college stu- 
dents. The Women's Educational and Industrial Union in 
Boston in co-operation with Simmons College is endeavoring to 
aid in the solution of the difficulty by establishing normal 
classes in its School of Salesmanship, by creating fellowships in 
its Department of Research for college-trained women who desire 
an opportunity for the study of industrial questions relating to 
women, and by opening its Trade School Shops* as practice 
laboratories for college and normal school women preparing for 
industrial teaching. 

An endeavor was made to discover the actual demand for 
teachers and the types of positions offered from fourteen promi- 
nent institutions to which at present one must turn for industrial 
teachers. While this was unsatisfactory in many ways, it brought 
out clearly the fact that the supply of educated women who have 
also a practical business training necessary for entering upon 
various lines of vocational teaching and other industrial or com- 

* The Trade School Shops are regular business shops, employing young girls 
who have had a year of training at the Boston Trade School. They were estab- 
lished for the purpose of enabling Trade School girls to prolong their training 
for a second year, and having proved successful, are now endeavoring to offer 
laboratory practice to women who are preparing to teach. At present there are 
two shops (one for millinery and one for hand-made children's garments), but 
two others are soon to be added, — one for dressmaking and one for machine oper- 
ating. 



276 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

mercial pursuits is pitifully meagre, and that the institutions are 
unable to keep up with the rapidly increasing demand, although 
the salaries range from $800 to $2,000 a year and over. Since the 
development of vocational education will undoubtedly mean that 
teachers will be sought in increasingly large numbers, it is appar- 
ent that a greater organized effort should be made to train teachers 
for this new field. At present those whose previous experience, 
inclination, and ability lead them in this direction, and who can 
supplement their college or normal school training with a year 
or two in the particular business which they are preparing to 
teach, will find their value greatly enhanced. It is believed, 
however, that the best teachers of the future will be prepared by 
a combination of shop work and general education, beginning 
very early in a girl's life, as business habits and methods are not 
easily acquired by older persons. Girls who are looking forward 
to vocational teaching would do well to seek every opportunity for 
practical work while pursuing their high-school and college courses. 
While at present one must rely upon existing commercial 
shops for securing laboratory practice, the preparation of voca- 
tional teachers may soon require the establishment of special 
shops for this purpose, as there cannot fail to be much misdi- 
rected effort resulting in loss of efficiency, where teachers are 
dependent upon receiving such training as they can pick up in 
shops conducted wholly for financial profit. Just as the model 
school was found to be a necessity in connection with the normal 
school, that the training of teachers might not be a mere matter 
of chance, but be more carefully directed towards a conscious 
goal, so in connection with institutions to which the country 
must look for vocational teachers, it would seem that shops for 
laboratory practice must, in some way, be connected with the 
institutions, so that the teacher's practical business experience 
may be a definite part of her training, and be made to serve the 
best possible educational ends. 



SPECIAL FORMS OF TEACHING 277 



TRAINING IN SALESMANSHIP 
LUCINDA W. PRINCE 

Director of the School of Salesmanship, Women's Educational and Industrial 

Union 

The Women's Educational and Industrial Union of Boston, 
because of its special interest in industrial training, five years 
ago started a class which has since developed into the Union 
School of Salesmanship. The ideal of this distinctly pioneer 
work is not only that the pupils shall gain training and informa- 
tion, but that they shall develop greater power to do their work 
in the world. Women looking upon salesmanship as a vocation, 
with ambition to advance, will command higher wages; con- 
versely, stores offering higher wages will demand trained workers. 
With the realization of how to use her resources the saleswoman 
finds store work not a drudgery, but a joy, and with the increased 
efficiency and higher wages which almost invariably result from the 
training, the double benefit is secured of improved service to the 
public and a higher standard of life and living for the workers. 
It will thus be seen that there is a vital connection between the 
business and the sociological phases of the work. 

In general, the aim of the course in salesmanship is to develop 
those qualities which will enable the pupils to succeed as sales- 
women. What these qualities are was determined by personal 
investigation of the needs of the average untrained salesgirls in 
stores and by conference with superintendents as to the qualifica- 
tions essential to success. As a result, the first general aim re- 
solved itself into this fourfold, more definite aim: (1) to teach 
right thinking towards the work as a vocation and to arouse a 
feeling of responsibility; (2) to develop a pleasing personality; 
(3) to inculcate a regard for system and to cultivate a habit of 
attention to details; (4) to instruct in those subjects which in- 
crease knowledge of the goods to be sold. The subjects taught 
as the natural outcome of this purpose are selected on the fol- 
lowing basis: — 

1. To develop a wholesome, attractive personality: hygiene 



278 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

(especially personal hygiene). This includes study of daily 
menus for saleswomen, ventilation, bathing, sleep, exercise, rec- 
reation. 

2. To give familiarity with the general system of stores: 
sales-slip practice, store directory, business arithmetic, business 
forms and cash account, lectures. 

3. To increase knowledge of stock: color, design, textiles. 

4. To teach selling as a science: discussion of store experi- 
ences, talks on salesmanship, — such as "Attitude to Firm, Cus- 
tomer, and Fellow-employee, " "Store System," "Care of Stock," 
"Approach to Customer," "Knowledge of Stock," "Closing the 
Sale," "Courtesies to Customers," — demonstration of selling in 
the class, and salesmanship lectures. 

The note-book work required gives material for English, in- 
cluding spelling, punctuation, and penmanship. Demonstration 
of selling in the class is conducted like the teaching lessons in 
normal schools. Real customers, chosen because they represent 
different types, buy real articles. The sale is watched by the 
whole class, notes being taken of strong and weak points. When 
the sale is finished, the one who has made the sale is allowed to 
criticise her own work, then the class criticises, the customer tells 
why she did or did not buy the article, and the whole is summed 
up by the director. These demonstrations, the discussions of 
store experience, observations in other stores, and actual selling 
with thought, awaken the class to the difference between handing 
goods over the counter and really serving the customer. What 
Professor Palmer calls an "aptitude for vicariousness " is as 
essential for the successful saleswoman as for the successful 
teacher. 

As far as possible, the class work is correlated : the drawing is a 
store plan or a design for a costume; spelling is studied in names 
and addresses and in store English (and French) ; when the girl s 
are sent to the stores for samples, exercises in salesmanship, color, 
design, and textiles are involved. When the subject of the textile 
study is wool, one of the store lectures at that time is on wool or 
woollen goods. Practical talks by representatives of the firms 
interested, experienced salespeople, buyers, and superintendents, 
are given twice a week to the class on such subjects as "The 



SPECIAL FORMS OF TEACHING 279 

Department Store's System and the Saleswoman's Place in It," 
"How to show Goods," "Trifles," "Service to Customer." The 
class also has lectures from specialists on Hygiene, Vocational 
Training, Food, Tuberculosis, Finance, etc. The Art Museum 
is visited, lectures being given there on textiles, designs, and 
costumes. Three of the most helpful talks are given by customers. 

In looking to the future of the school, two things, each depending 
on the other, are much to be desired, — more efficient candidates 
for training, and higher wages. It is encouraging that some of 
the superintendents already admit that three well-trained sales- 
women can manage a counter better than six indifferent ones, and 
that the well-trained three with good salaries cost the store no 
more than the inefficient six. 

Essential to the success of the school is the co-operation of the 
firms of five Boston department stores, William Filene's Sons 
Company, Jordan Marsh Company, Gilchrist Company, James A. 
Houston Company, and R. H. White Company. Candidates for 
the salesmanship classes are taken from positions in these stores 
and must be approved by the store superintendent and the di- 
rector of the school. The pupils return to their work in the 
stores every afternoon, classes being held in the morning only. 
The girls receive full wages while taking the training. The course 
is three months in length. An advisory committee, composed 
of the superintendents of the five co-operating stores, meets once 
a month for discussion and conference with the president of the 
Women's Educational and Industrial Union and the director of 
the School of Salesmanship. 

By an arrangement between the Union School of Salesmanship 
and Simmons College, women who wish to prepare themselves 
to teach salesmanship may now obtain the necessary training. 
Instruction is given at the Union in the principles and practice 
of teaching, in textiles and other subjects included in the course, 
while actual selling in one or more of the stores connected with the 
school gives the necessary practical knowledge of the store end 
of salesmanship. Simmons College offers courses in Economics. 
The courses are open to a limited number, to be chosen from the 
following classes of students: (1) women who have acquired a 
practical knowledge of salesmanship and desire to prepare them- 



280 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

selves to teach it; (2) women who have had successful experience 
as teachers and who require a practical knowledge of the store 
end in order to teach salesmanship in particular; (3) women of 
maturity, with aptitude and general experience, who desire to 
acquire both a practical knowledge of salesmanship and the 
ability to give instruction in it. Experience has seemed to prove 
that the most effective teachers of salesmanship are those with 
educational background, who have done successful teaching, 
rather than those who have had store experience merely. The 
period of training for teachers is from six to ten months according 
to experience and preparation. The salesmanship classes begin 
in January, April, and October. The tuition fee is at the rate of 
$100 a year. 

The openings for teachers of salesmanship seem at this moment 
very promising. There is wide-spread interest in the plan, and 
during the past year the director of the Union School of Sales- 
manship has been called upon to establish two other schools, one 
in Providence, R.I., and one in San Francisco, Cal. A number 
of large cities are asking for directions in starting similar training 
in connection with their department stores. 

The work may be established in one of two ways, either as the 
undertaking of an individual firm for its employees, as in the San 
Francisco house of Hale Brothers, or in a group plan, as in Provi- 
dence, where several stores send a picked number of their em- 
ployees to a general School of Salesmanship. In the Union 
School of Salesmanship the normal training given fits teachers 
for either kind of work. 

An initial salary of $20 a week is the average return for sales- 
manship teaching as a vocation. Beyond lies the possibility of 
an income varying from $1,000 to $5,000 according to experience 
and efficiency. 



SPECIAL FORMS OF TEACHING 281 

r 

TEACHING MENTAL DEFECTIVES 

CORA ELIZABETH WOOD 

Teacher of Special Class, Rutland Street School, Boston 

Fully 7 per cent, of all school children rank somewhat below 
the normal average in mental capacity. There is not a State in 
the Union which makes ample provision for its feeble-minded. 
During the past half-century, however, great strides have been 
made towards meeting the reasonable needs of all classes of de- 
fectives, not only by the opening of State institutions and schools, 
but by a later movement towards the establishment in the public 
schools of classes for children requiring special training. During 
the past five years or more there has been great progress in this 
4 * special class" work, and the demand for teachers especially 
trained for this work is large. 

Miss Elizabeth Farrell, inspector of ungraded classes in New 
York, states: — 

In the city of New York the number of openings for teachers of men- 
tally deficient children is most indefinite. We have about 100 classes 
now in operation, which we consider quite a number, considering the 
time we have spent on the work; but in view of the fact that there are 
probably 7,000 children in need of special class training, we have not 
done much as yet. We do need to-day about 400 teachers, and if they 
were available, we would organize classes enough to accommodate all 
defectives now in the schools. 

We require a teacher for an ungraded class to have had three years' 
experience in teaching normal children. Aside from this, we advise 
specializing along lines of abnormal psychology, pathology, so far as it 
relates to conditions found in abnormal children, and in all phases of 
hand-work. 

In Boston, where there are but nine special classes, the work 
has been limited for years by a lack of experienced teachers. One 
year of special training or experience is required, and examina- 
tions are held in April of each year. Salaries for special class 
work in Boston range from a minimum of $936, with an annual 



282 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

increase of $48 per annum for two years, the maximum being 
$1,032; while those in New York range from a lower minimum, 
$660, to a slightly higher maximum, $1,300, with an annual in- 
crease of $40, and an annual bonus of $60 paid to teachers of 
boys or mixed classes. 

After the work in the public schools the resident teacher is 
most in demand, especially in New York, where the salaries 
range from $40 to $100 per month, with living. Such teachers 
are expected to teach during a part of each school day. They 
also assume responsibility for the general care and training of 
their charges. 

The visiting or day teacher, who goes from home to home giv- 
ing lessons, receives from $1 to $2 per hour, according to the 
difficulties of the case. 

Private schools for backward children employ a larger number 
of teachers in proportion to the number of pupils in attendance 
than any other kind of schools. The most important of these 
are situated near Boston, New York, or Philadelphia. Salaries 
in private schools, where special training for the work is not 
always demanded, range from $30 to $50 per month with home. 

In institutions, where teachers who have not had special train- 
ing are sometimes accepted, the salaries vary. Those nearest 
our large cities pay $300 for the first year, followed by an annual 
increase of $50 to a maximum of $450 or more, including home and 
laundry. 

Training, or experience, for work of the above kinds can be 
obtained only in institutions, private schools, or in the one train- 
ing school located at Vineland, N.J., the purpose of which is 
to afford "professional training to those who desire to teach 
defectives, and to fit social workers and others to better under- 
stand peculiar, backward, and special children." The course 
covers a period of six weeks, from July 13 to August 22, and costs 
not over $60, including board. Address all correspondence to 
Mr. E. R. Johnstone, Superintendent. 

The Orthogenic School, connected with the psychological 
laboratory of the University of Pennsylvania, offers an oppor- 
tunity for tests and other laboratory work under the direction 
of Dr. Lightner Witmer. 



SPECIAL FORMS OF TEACHING 283 

The character of the work under discussion is such that one 
entering upon it needs to cultivate* a never-failing patient, per- 
sistent, and hopeful attitude of mind, together with a sympa- 
thetic yet practical appreciation of the difficulties which must 
ever lie in wait for that unfortunate class of children known as 
neurotics. 



SPECIAL CLASS WORK FOR MENTAL DEFECTIVES* 

WALTER E. FERNALD, M.D. 

Superintendent of the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-minded, Waverlet 

The actual instruction of these children must begin on a much 
lower plane than with the lowest classes of the grade schools. 
It must begin with what the child already knows, and the suc- 
cessive steps must be very gradual and progressive. 

The physiological exercise and education of the special senses 
and the training of the voluntary muscles to directed accurate 
response must precede and prepare the way for so-called in- 
tellectual training. The intelligent use of the special senses is 
the basis of all knowledge. The inactive special senses, the ob- 
structed avenues of approach to the central intelligence, must 
be opened up by a series of carefully arranged sensorial gym- 
nastics. To distinguish and to appreciate slight difference in 
colors, form, touch, sound, smell, or taste, the child must, to a 
certain extent, be attentive, he must observe, he must discrim- 
inate and judge, — in fact, you have compelled him to think. 
The ultimate aim of these exercises is to train the child to acquire 
knowledge from sensations. 

Next in importance to the sense drill comes the discipline of 
the muscles, not only for muscular growth and practical co-ordi- 
nation, but with reference to the now well-recognized relation of 
thought to muscular movement. Motor training, in the broad- 
est sense, is one of the most potent factors in arousing the feeble 

*From an address before the Public Education Association of Philadelphia, 
November 9, 1906, urging the value of special classes for defectives in the public 
schools. 



284 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

powers of voluntary attention, observation, and comprehension, 
and the weak power of volition, which are the fundamental ele- 
ments of all degrees of mental defect. This motor education 
should begin with the common games and occupations of normal 
childhood. The child should be taught to kick a foot-ball, to 
throw and catch a hand-ball, to jump a rope, etc., and at first to 
perform large movements calling for the natural use of the various 
parts of the body. Ordinary competitive games, marching in 
step and to music, imitative drill, etc., prepare the way for elabo- 
rate formal gymnastics, involving close attention, prompt volition, 
and definite motor response. 

What has been said of motor training in general applies with 
special force to the training of the finely co-ordinated muscles of 
the fingers, hand, and forearm. There is a very intimate rela- 
tion between what a child knows or thinks, and what he can do 
with his hands. The importance of definite motor response as 
a means of exercise and of development of mental processes can- 
not be overstated. The kindergarten and manual occupations, 
the school busy work, the sloyd, basketry, weaving, etc., in great 
variety, are ideal applications of this principle. Indeed, we have 
almost no other means of influencing or measuring the mental 
growth of the defective. 

The regular curriculum of the three or four lower grades is the 
ultimate basis of instruction. Ordinary primary branches are 
taught in accordance with the modern graphic methods, with 
large emphasis upon attractive sensorial and motor aids to the 
exercise and expression of attention, observation, perception, and 
judgment. Compared with the education of normal children, 
it is a difference of degree, and not of kind. The instruction must 
begin on a very low plane, the progress is slower, the pupil cannot 
be carried so far. 

The success of the special classes will be measured by the 
relative ability of the trained pupils to maintain themselves in- 
dependently in the community and to earn their own living. At 
an early age the manual training should be directed toward the 
practical industrial occupations. The girls should be taught 
ordinary domestic work, cooking, laundry work, sewing, mending, 
etc., and the boys should be taught various handicrafts, like 



SPECIAL FORMS OF TEACHING 285 

painting, simple carpenter work, and ordinary manual labor, 
which will be the most likely form of Occupation open to them. 

The teachers should be selected with sole reference to their 
fitness for this difficult work. They should begin the work 
young, as a rule. They should have robust physical health, a 
hopeful temperament, great patience, tact, and originality. 
They must be fond of children, sympathetic and kind, but firm 
and decisive. The personality of the teacher is the all-important 
factor. 

A teacher with the above natural qualifications, with kinder- 
garten or normal training and a little experience in primary work, 
would be well equipped. Normal training in gymnastic work and 
the manual occupations would be very helpful. In addition a 
few months' experience as assistant to the teacher of an existing 
special class would be an ideal preparation. No merely routine 
teacher can succeed in this work. 



THE OPPORTUNITY IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION 

AMY M. HOMANS 

Director, Department of Htgienb and Physical Education, Wellesley College 

The need is this: teachers of human race culture, who shall so 
inspire men, women, and children with the personal obligation 
to the State and to their species, of the best possible health at- 
tainable by the individual, that biological science may cease to 
be the comparatively impotent benevolence that it at present is; 
that through clear and kindly enlightenment the children may be 
led to instruct the parents, — the parents, eventually, the chil- 
dren, — both led to the physical harmony that alone can render 
possible the greater ends of human life. Only such teachers can 
fulfil the true demand of physical education, which is education 
for physical citizenship. 

The need, moreover, is specific. The human animal is virtu- 
ally, by weight, a mass of muscle. This mass must be carried 
through life, and should, therefore, be rendered a servant, not 



286 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

a parasite. Again, this mass is the absolute and sole mode of 
expression. Eye, voice, face, limbs, all are muscle organs. The 
warmth of the body is produced, distributed, and largely regu- 
lated by muscle. Breathing is effected and controlled by muscu- 
lar action. The heart and digestive canal are muscles. Fatigue, 
rest, and refreshment are substantially muscle phenomena. It 
is not irrational, therefore, that physical education has had its 
beginnings, crude and narrow as they have been, in a concentrated 
attempt to exploit the more evident muscular functions. The 
attempt, as we all know, has been carried to excess. The fact, 
however, remains that the proper training of these engines of 
the physical life is to a very high degree essential in the pursuit 
of health. "Muscular exercise ... is the greatest source of 
vigorous bodily and mental health." This is the authoritative 
verdict of modern physiology. The fact is patent when we con- 
sider that efficient muscular function is our sole means of pursuing 
our relations with what is still man's natural environment, — out 
of doors. The out-of-door life is the touchstone of bodily and 
mental fitness. Thus the physical nurture of the race calls for 
teachers trained not alone in the class-room, but in the art of 
human adaptation to man's most favorable surroundings, — teach- 
ers of hygiene, in its sense of enlightened sympathy with the 
nature of which we are all a part. 

It is a significant and encouraging fact that the demand in this 
country for teachers of physical education is by no means con- 
fined to localities, but is wide-spread. The call comes from edu- 
cational and other institutions of many kinds in many places, 
and is a recognition by the teaching conscience of the country 
that no education can be complete that leaves out the physical 
basis of human efficiency. During the academic year 1908-09 
the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics was called upon to fill 
115 teaching vacancies in universities, colleges, state normal 
schools, public and private schools, and institutions for deaf- 
mutes, the blind, insane, and feeble-minded. For these there were 
but 61 candidates available, leaving 54 positions refused. So far 
this year, 1909-10, 33 applications for teachers have been 
made to the Department of Hygiene and Physical Education in 
Wellesley College, involving a certain repetition of the situation 



SPECIAL FORMS OF TEACHING 287 

above stated. The opportunity for service in this most fertile 
field is therefore far beyond the deterring influence of competi- 
tion, except in so far as high personal qualifications are absolutely 
essential. 

Financially, the outlook for the qualified teacher of physical 
education is most encouraging. Salaries earned by women in 
this field range from $600 to $2,500, there being every possibility 
of the efficient teacher increasing her responsibilities, with at- 
tendant financial return, as experience accumulates. The con- 
servative average salary is about $1,100. 

The training which such positions demand is definite and ex- 
acting. By intense concentration of curriculum and enforce- 
ment of whole-souled attention to the matter in hand, results 
have been attained in students whose preparation for a profes- 
sional course has been far from adequate. Such a two or three 
years' course, however, though producing useful, energetic 
teachers, falls short of its possibilities because graduates often 
lack the maturity and broad general training that a complete 
college course should impart. The demand is emphatically for 
teachers having the full status of college graduates. The work 
now being undertaken at Wellesley College is a serious attempt 
to place physical education as a profession on a thorough aca- 
demic basis of at least four years of well-planned college study, 
which shall be so ordered that the broader as well as the more in- 
tensive training shall contribute to a well-rounded normal course. 
Especially important in such a course are a firm grasp of expres- 
sion in spoken and written language and an appreciative, workable 
knowledge of the scientific bases which lead through physical 
science to the actual application of physiological theory to the 
problems of health. Whenever the need has been recognized 
in communities establishing a focus of hygienic enlightenment 
and a real opportunity made for it, the results have invariably 
been most marked. 

Finally, it must be reiterated that in no form of teaching is 
personal endowment more essential than here. The ability to 
influence and organize means magnetism and personality. A 
high sense of vocation with clear conception of its meaning and 
ideals is here, without exception, necessary. Added to this must 



288 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED Y/OMAN 

be the endurance demanded by hard physical work, together with 
those more subtle qualifications of nervous organization which 
impart quickness and muscular accuracy, together with a love of 
and capacity for rhythmic expression. Thus equipped, a woman 
entering the teaching field of physical education has before her 
the prospect of mighty things and takes her place in the fore- 
front of true human progress. 



CORRECTIVE WORK IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION* 

ROBERT W. LOVETT, M.D. 

Boston 

By common consent the field of physical education is divided 
into two parts, the educational and the corrective. Some knowl- 
edge of both is necessary for the proper practice of either one, 
but in general the divisions are fairly distinct both in the schools 
and in practice. I shall deal in this article entirely with the 
corrective side of the work. In order to start with a perfectly 
clear understanding of terms, I mean by the corrective side of 
physical education a knowledge of the application of both medi- 
cal gymnastics and massage to pathological conditions. 

The practical questions which arise at the outset of a con- 
sideration of this problem of corrective work are : (1) Is there 
a demand for this class of work? (2) What should be the prep- 
aration for it? (3) Is it possible to obtain this preparation? 
(4) What is the remuneration? (5) Is it a dignified and proper 
calling for a young woman to follow? 

1. Is there a demand for persons skilled in corrective work? 
I must remind you that fifty years has made a change in medical 
practice. Drugs given so largely fifty years ago are to-day being 
given much less, and their place is being taken by more rational 
measures, to be classed as physical therapeutics; namely, elec- 
tricity, baths of water, hot air, and light, massage, medical gym- 

* Extract from a paper read before the Boston Society for Physical Education, 
May 17, 1906. 



SPECIAL FORMS OF TEACHING 289 

nasties, exercises in apparatus, etc. You need look no further 
than to the prevalence of osteopathy in this community to show 
you the signs of the times. Again, the last fifty years has dif- 
ferentiated medical practice into specialties. Where the gen- 
eral practitioner in former days treated everything, to-day the 
surgeon, the neurologist, the physician, and the orthopedic sur- 
geon has each his field, and each deals with the special class of 
diseases coming to him by means of treatment constantly in- 
creasing in complexity and refinement, and with constantly in- 
creasing emphasis on physical means of treatment. 

Having given these glimpses of a large field, let me speak still 
further of a class of practitioners very largely dependent on skil- 
ful corrective workers to aid them. The orthopedic surgeon 
treats deformities and joint disease. In these he naturally needs 
the highest skill that he can procure to aid him in exercises, mas- 
sage, and general corrective work. The medical gymnast is, 
therefore, indispensable to the orthopedic surgeon, and each sur- 
geon must have at least one such helper or the partial time of one. 
The American Orthopedic Association, embracing by no means 
all of the practising orthopedic surgeons, numbers about 60 mem- 
bers, and its members come from many cities. Each one of these 
and many others must have at least one skilful helper. Add 
to this the hundreds of surgeons, physicians, and neurologists, 
and finally consider the thousands of general practitioners who 
are anxious to avail themselves of physical therapeutics, and 
you will conclude that there is plenty of work to be had. 

Yet there is hardly a week in the year when some one does not 
come to my office to ask me to send him or her patients in medi- 
cal massage and gymnastics, and many of them tell me that they 
find but little work. Why is this, if the field is so large, as I have 
said? Because the product is not what the consumers need. 
The orthopedic surgeon, for example, does not want a woman who 
has been given a few lessons in the technique of massage, a woman 
who knows about educational gymnastics and the theory of gym- 
nastics, yet who has had only a cursory experience in their applica- 
tion to patients. There are too many such now in the field. 
I am told that $10 a week stenographers are to be had by 
the hundred, but that women worth $20 a week are ex- 



290 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

tremely hard to find, and are generally occupied. What the 
orthopedic surgeon wants is a higher grade of medical gymnast 
than is now educated in this country — a woman with a sound 
working knowledge of anatomy, especially surface anatomy, a 
familiarity with physiology, enough to acquaint her with what 
muscular activity means in physiological terms, enough instruc- 
tion in symptomatology to know that shortness of breath means 
one of several pathological conditions and what these are, to 
know the symptoms of fatigue, and what nervous prostration is. 
She must know in general the symptoms of inflammation, and 
especially must she know the different kinds of joint disease, at 
least theoretically. In short, she must be better grounded than 
now in the foundation facts of physiology, pathology, and symp- 
tomatology, and above all she must be taught to use her mind 
and to make her own applications. There is at present too much 
teaching of detail and too little of principles. The teaching 
must in a measure be done by medical men in active practice; 
they have had too little share in the education of their helpers, 
and they are but little represented in the schools which teach in 
some degree medical gymnastics and corrective work. In the 
catalogues of all the schools of physical education that I could 
find, there were 117 instructors, of whom only 23 were gradu- 
ates of medical schools, and many of these, I assume, were not 
in active practice. 

I come now to the question of massage and its teaching. In 
Germany the art, as should be the case, is taught by the surgeon 
and in large measure practised by him. The physiology of 
massage is taught, and what it can do in physiological terms, the 
anatomical reasons for certain manipulations and the physiol- 
ogy of percussion, effleurage, and kneading. The technique is 
secondary to sound theoretical knowledge, for the manipulator 
knows what he wants to do and what means are at his disposal; 
and whether his touch be light or heavy, whether his hands be 
rough or smooth, he is using his brain to guide his hands and he 
is more likely to get results than the person who uses his hands 
alone. For some years I have been asking many of the people 
who applied to me for massage to massage my arm in order to 
show me their method. In this way I have had experience of 



SPECIAL FORMS OF TEACHING 291 

many varieties of technique and methods of various kinds, but 
as a rule an aimless manipulation, inefficient and on the whole 
unintelligent. For massage, therefore, I would advocate instruc- 
tion and drill in the principles of the anatomy and physiology 
of the treatment, especially as to the reasons for each manipu- 
lation, and above all I would ask for massage from the brain 
and not wholly from the hands. I would lay less stress on tech- 
nique and more on principles, and never teach technique alone. 

2. I have thus come to what I regard as the most important 
requirement in corrective work, the education of the worker; 
and I use the word "education" literally. It does not matter so 
much whether the instruction period be two years or four, and it 
is not of primary importance that the subjects taught cover ex- 
actly one ground or another, so long as they embody the essen- 
tials; but it does matter very much, and is to my mind of primary 
importance, that the pupil should be taught to use her mind and 
think for herself. I would not make the training a drill in the 
technique of medical gymnastics and massage, but a grounding 
in the principles on which these arts rest and an application of 
these principles to practical conditions. The equivalent of at least 
one year of practical clinical work is necessary for the proper train- 
ing of a corrective worker. This may not be necessarily in addi- 
tion to the two years of the course, or whatever the length of the 
course may be, but contemporaneous with part of it. I know that 
corrective workers can be turned out in six weeks or three months, 
but the kind of corrective worker that I mean will have to take a 
course of at least two years, and a year of practical work, half of 
the latter, perhaps, being contemporaneous with the two years* 
course. I can see no reason why this should not be sufficient 
time, provided the instruction is adequate, digested, and focussed. 

3. Is it possible to obtain this preparation? I have examined 
with care the catalogues of all the schools of physical training 
in America that I have been able to find, and nowhere have I seen 
a course covering the requirements that I have mentioned. At 
present a young woman, to qualify properly, must go to Europe 
for at least a year, where, in Germany preferably, she can re- 
ceive adequate instruction from medical hands and fit herself to 
meet the medical demand. 



292 VOCATIONS FOR THE TRAINED WOMAN 

4. What is the remuneration to be expected? A person doing 
corrective work may do so in one of three ways: first, she may 
assist a physician, and give him all her time for a salary; second, 
she may open a gymnasium and take patients from several physi- 
cians, but only from physicians, and not treat cases on her own 
account; third, she may work as a free lance, and get patients 
when and where she can, with or without the doctor's consent and 
approval. The first is the most desirable and the safest, the sec- 
ond may or may not succeed, and the third course is likely ulti- 
mately to fail, although the personal popula ity of the woman may 
carry it to success. Lacking, as she must, however, the support 
of the profession, many difficulties must arise, and the handicap 
is a large one. 

For women equipped only with the present training in correc- 
tive work, a large salary cannot be expected, nor is the present 
demand very great for such workers as physicians' assistants. 
It is the old question of the $10 and $20 stenographer. I know 
men who would gladly pay a large salary for such helpers, but 
they cannot get them in America, as a rule, although here and 
there an exceptionally clever woman fits herself to meet the 
conditions, and becomes worth $1,500 or $1,800. The free lance 
may in exceptional cases make much more for a while, but the 
end may come at any time, and the position is not suited to a 
woman of brains and self-respect. 

5. It is hardly necessary to say that a woman, educated as I 
have described, acting as assistant to a physician or taking pa- 
tients from physicians, will find herself in a position of dignity and 
in a place of which no one need be ashamed. The work is no less 
pleasant than educational work, and no less dignified. It is more 
varied. The relation with patients is a pleasant one, and a cer- 
tain professional standing comes to one who will keep her profes- 
sional and social relations apart from each other, — a matter of 
much practical importance. 



INDEX 



Advertising: 168-173; in department 
store, 176, 180; in publishing house, 
245, 249; for magazines, 256; il- 
lustrating for, 172 f. n., 267 f . 

Agent: reception, Association for Im- 
proving the Condition of the Poor, 
36; Charity Organization, 38; Chil- 
dren's Aid Association, Society for 
the Prevention of Cruelty to Chil- 
dren, 3, 41; juvenile court, 3; State 
Charities Aid Association, 18; in- 
surance, 198; real estate, 196. 

Agriculture, 122-133; special forms 
of, 133-167; civil service positions 
in, 7, 77, 129; department of, State 
and United States, 5, 7, 75, 130. 

Anatomy and Histology: preparing 
slides, 77. 

Bacteriology: in laboratories of Boards 
of Health, 77; in private laboratories, 
77; in dairy farm, 77, 78, 127 ff.; 
research in, Rockefeller Foundation, 
etc., 78. 

Banking, 188-195. 

"Bank Lady," 189. 

Bee-keeping, 129 ff., 152 ff. 

Biology, 76-78. 

Boards of Health: State and munici- 
pal, laboratory work under, 75, 77. 

Book-binding: in museum, 80. 

Book-keeping: in bank, 189; in de- 
partment store, 177; in magazine 
house, 256; in publishing house, 
244. 

Botany: opportunities in civil service. 
6, 7, 77, 129; in agricultural experi- 
ment stations, 77. 

Broker: insurance, 198 ff.; real estate, 
195 ff. 

Bureau of Municipal Research; open- 
ings in, 30-33. 

Business, 168-199. 

Buyer, 186-188; in department store, 
102, 174, 178, 182, 183, 185; in 
dressmaking establishments, 110; in 
millinery shops 115. 

Canning: preserving, 159. 



Cashier: in bank, 188; in magazine 
house, 256. 

Catering, 85, 94 ff. 

Charity-Organization work, 3, 36-40. 

Chemistry, 74-76; research in, 3; in 
United States Department of Agri- 
culture, 7. 

Child-saving: State and municipal, 
Massachusetts, 14 ff.; New York, 
19 f. n.; State Charities Aid Asso- 
ciation, 18 ff.; Children's Aid So- 
ciety, etc., 3, 40-42. 

Civil service, 4-8; examinations, 7, 8, 
11, 12, 15; opportunities in, federal, 
6, 7, 11, 77, 129, 166; State, 7 f., 
14 f., 15, 16, 17, 19 f. n.; municipal, 
7 f., 8, 11, 15, 19 f. n. 

Clerical work: in Association for Im- 
proving the Condition of the Poor, 
36 ; in Bureau of Municipal Research, 
31; in Charity Organization, 38; in 
banks, 189; in department stores, 
177; in magazine work, 254, 256; 
in newspaper work, 237, 238; in 
publishing houses, 244 f., 248-250; in 
Art Museum, 271; technical clerk, 
civil service, 6, 129; clerical and sec- 
retarial work, 201-213. 

Club director, 3, 26, 61. 

Consumers' League: research in, 29, 30. 

Critic: on newspaper, 231. 

Curator: in Museum of Natural His- 
tory, 79; in Art Museum, 272. 

Dairy farming, 77, 78, 127 f., 141, 144, 
146-150. 

Department store, 173-186; dress- 
making in, 101; interior decoration 
in, 105; millinery in, 102. 

Designing: commercial, 268 f.; of cut 
flowers, 128; in dressmaking, 101, 
105 f., 109; in millinery, 113 f. 

Dietitian, 72, 83-84, 85 ff., 87 ff., 91. 

District nursing, 72. 

Docent (Museum Instructor): in Mu- 
seum of Natural Science, 79; in 
Art Museum, 271. 

Domestic Art, 100-121. 



293 



294 



INDEX 



Domestic Science, 81-100. 

Dressmaking, 101, 107-1 IS; in de- 
partment store, adviser, 101; head 
of department, 101; head of work- 
room, 176, 179. 

Editorial work: in Bureau of Munici- 
pal Research, 31, 32; in Charity- 
Organization, 38; in civil service, 
6; in Museum of Natural History, 
79; on magazine, 254 f.; on news- 
paper, 233, 234, 236, 238; in publish- 
ing house, 246, 248. 

Farming: general, 124, 132, 133-145; 
special, 125-130, 147-160. 

Fashion drawing, 265 f., 269. 

Filing clerk: in bank, 191 ff.; in maga- 
zine house, 256. See Indexing. 

Floor- walker: in department store, 175, 
179, 182. 

Floriculture, 128, 129, 158-160. 

Forestry, 163-167; civil service, 77, 166. 

Free lancing, 241 ff. 

Government service, 4-8, 8-18, 29, 73, 
75, 77, 78, 129, 130, 165, 166. 

Gymnastics: medical, 288 f. See 
Physical Training. 

Head of stock in department store, 
183. 

Head of workroom in department 
store, 176, 179. 

Head- worker in settlement, 59 ff. 

Horticulture, 128; opportunities in 
civil service, 77, 129; laboratory as- 
sistants in, 129. 

Hospital: dietitian in, 72, 83, 86, 91; 
social service in, 42-49; superintend- 
ent of, 71. 

Hotel management, 93 f . 

Housekeeper: in hotel, 93; visiting, 95. 

Illustrating, 264 f . ; for fashion maga- 
zine, 265 f.; for advertisement, 267 f.; 
in Museum of Natural History, 80. 

Indexing, 258 ff. 

Industrial teaching, 14, 17, 56, 58, 60, 
82 f., 273 ff., 277 f. n., 284. 

Inspector: factory, 29, 73; lodging 
house, 30; medical, in schools, 72; 
pure food, 3, 150; sanitary, 2; tene- 
ment house, 29, 73. 

Institutional management, 71, 84 f., 
89-97. 

Insurance, 198 ff. 

Interior decorating, 103, 104, 119-121; 
in department store, 105. 

Investigation: in Bureau of Municipal 
Research, 31, 32; in forestry, 166; of 



industrial problems, 29; of insect 
pests, 78; of poultry problems, 125, 
126; of pure food, 3; patent investiga- 
tor, civil service, 6; medical social re- 
search, 46. See Research. 

Journalism, 227-244, 250-258; as con- 
nected with agriculture, 125, 129. 

Juvenile court, 3, 13. 

Kindergarten: opportunities for, in 
playground work, 22; in settlement 
work, 56, 58; in teaching mental 
defectives, 284. 

Landscape gardening, 129, 130, 161- 
163. 

Laundry work, 85, 97 ff. 

Librarian: nature of work, 215-220; 
training, 221-226; in bank, 191 ff., 
194 f.; in civil service, 6; in Museum 
of Natural History, 79; in Art Mu- 
seum, 271; in social centre, 26; in 
relation to agriculture, 131. 

Lunch room: management,84, 96 f. 

Magazine work, 250-258. 

Makers of flowers: for Museum of 
Natural History, 80. 

Making of children's clothes, 101. 

Management of houses: in connection 
with settlement work, 56. See Rent 
Collecting. 

Market Gardening, 154-158. 

Marshal: in State Reformatory, 17. 

Massage: in physical education, 290 f. 

Matron: in [State Reformatory, 17; of 
college dormitory, 89; of industrial 
schools, 41; of Young Women's 
Christian Association Homes, etc., 
90, 91; of large institutions, 83. 

Millinery, 102, 103, 113-118; in depart- 
ment store, head of department, 102. 

Museum work: art, 270-272; science, 
79 f. 

Newspaper work: organization, 227- 
236; individual experience, 236-240; 
free lancing, 241 ff. 

Nurse, 71-73; in Association for Im- 
proving the Condition of the Poor, 
35; in Charity Organization, 38; in 
settlement, 56, 58; as visitor, 15. 

Parole officer: in State Reformatory, 
17. 

Pathology: research in, 3, 17. 

Pharmacology, 78. 

Philanthropy, Schools of, 28, 39, 44. 

Physical education: educational work, 
285-288; opportunities for, in play- 
ground work', 23-24; in social 



INDEX. 



295 



centres, 26; in settlement work, 56; 
in teaching mental defectives, 2S4 ; in 
Young "Women's Christian Associa- 
tion, 70; preparation for, 7S; cor- 
rective work, 288-291. 

Physician: in State Reformatory, 15, 
17; in settlements, 56, 58. 

Physiology: research assistant in, 78. 

Playground work, 20-25. 

Police matron, 8. 

Poultry raising, 125, 132, 151 f. 

Probation work, 9-13; in juvenile 
court, 13; department of. State In- 
dustrial School, 14; in Society for 
Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 
41 f.; related to nursing, 73. 

Proof-reading: in Bureau of Municipal 
Research, 31, 32; on newspaper, 237, 
238; in publishing house, 246; on 
magazine, 254. 

Publishing house work, 244-250. 

Real estate, 195 ff.; in connection with 
insurance, 199. 

Reformatory work: research in, 4; in 
Massachusetts State Industrial 
School, 14 ff.; in New York State in- 
stitutions, 16 f. 

Rent collecting, 49-55. 

Reporter: in Bureau of Municipal Re- 
search. 32; on newspaper, 231, 233, 
236. 

Research: training for, 2, 28, 32; qualifi- 
cation for, 2; economic, 4, 28-30; 
fellowships, 39; municipal and politi- 
cal, 3; municipal, 30-33; scientific, 
3; in agricultural experiment station, 
in United States Department of 
Agriculture, 130; in bacteriology, 
Rockefeller Foundation, etc., 78; in 
biology as research assistant in mu- 
seum of natural history, 79; in 
chemistry, 75; in physiology, 78; in 
zoology, 78; in publishing houses, 
249: in sanitary science, 3, 75; so- 
cial, 3; Bureau of. Russell Sage 
Foundation, 39; social and economic, 
in Association for Improving the 
Condition of the Poor, 35; in settle- 
ments, 61 f. ; in State Reformatory, 
medical social, 46. See' Investiga- 
tion. 

Restaurant: management, 94, 96, f. 

Russell Sage Foundation, 29, 39. 

Saleswoman: in department store, 182; 
in dressmaking establishment, 110; 
in millinery shop, 115, 118. 



Secretarial work, 201-214; in Asso- 
ciation for Improving the Condition 
of the Poor, 36; in Bureau of Mu- 
nicipal Research, 31, 32; in Charity 
Organization, 37, 38, 39; in civil 
service, 6; in magazine house, 256; 
in Museum of Natural History, 79; 
in publishing house, 246 f.; for sci- 
entist, 76, 78; in settlements, 59, 60 f. 
n.; in State Charities Aid Association, 
18; in Young Women's Christian As- 
sociation, 68, 90. 

Settlement work, 56-63; training for, 
3, 29; assistants in, 59, 60 f. n.; club 
directors in, 61; head-workers in, 
59 f.; industrial teachers in, 56, 58, 60 
f. n.; stenographers in, 59. 

Small-fruit growing, 160. 

Social centre work, 25-27. 

Statistical work: in Association for 
Improving the Condition of the 
Poor, 35, 36; in bank, 194 f.; in 
civil service, 6; in department store, 
177, 182. 

Stenographer: in bank, 189; in Bu- 
reau of Municipal Research, 31; 
in Charity Organization, 38; in civil- 
service, 6; in magazine house, 254; 
in publishing house, 245, 246; in 
settlements, 59. 

Steward: in State Reformatory, 17. 

Superintendent: in Children's Aid So- 
cieties, 41; of college dormitories, 
etc., 89; of employees in department 
store, 180, 181, 182; of hospitals, 71; 
of industrial schools, 14, 15, 41, 42; 
of State Reformatory, 16; of Relief 
Association for Improving the Condi- 
tion of the Poor, 36; of Sea Breeze, 
36; of training school for nurses, 
72; of Young Women's Christian 
Association Home, etc., 90 f. Super- 
visor: in Charity Organization, 38; of 
visitors, 35; in Association for Im- 
proving the Condition of the Poor, 36. 

Teaching: of agriculture, 131; of 
domestic arts, 81 f., 107; of dress- 
making, 56; of millinery, 116 f.; of 
sewing, 35; of domestic science, 
58, 81-83, 70; of cooking, 35, 56; 
of industrial subjects. 14, 17, 56, 
58, 60 f. n., 82 f., 273 ff., 277 ff.. 284; 
of hygiene, 47; of mental defectives, 
281 ff.; of physical education, 285 ff.; 
of salesmanship, 277-280; voca- 
tional, 273-276. 



296 INDEX 

Teller: in bank, 189. of the Poor, 34, 36; factory inspec- 

Translating, 261-263; in civil service, 6. tor, 29 f. n. 

Tuberculosis work, 19, 46, 73. Vocational teaching, 273-276. 

Visitor: of children and girls under Welfare work, 3, 63-67, 176. 

State, 14 f., 19 f. n.; under Children's Young Women's Christian Associa- 

Aid Society, 41; of families, Asso- tion work, 68-70, 90 f. 

ciation for Improving the Condition Zoology: opportunities for, in govern- 
ment service, 6, 78. 



JUN 171310 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 
JJN it It* 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS * 



III 

019 566 868 1 




MM 



